


The House That Love Built

by Blackghost7



Category: NCIS, Stargate Atlantis, Stargate SG-1
Genre: Developing Relationship, M/M, Moving In Together
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-27
Updated: 2017-03-19
Packaged: 2018-09-27 08:57:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 31,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9992558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blackghost7/pseuds/Blackghost7
Summary: But later that night, at Tony's apartment, when they were both sated and relaxed, Tony squinted up at Gibbs in the near darkness."Did you mean it?"Gibbs took a deep breath and let it out quietly, then squeezed Tony's hand."Yeah, I did."~~~~~"I'm just saying, Colonel…""General, Rodney…""Yes, yes, fine, general Sheppard! You know it took me a long time to call you Colonel instead of Major, and this isn't any different! I don't care about names or titles, unless they are my own. You know this. I cannot understand how…""I've been a general for over two years now, Rodney."McKay's gaze softened at the quiet words, and he fixed his blue gaze on his lover."I know. But to me, you'll always be John."





	1. Chapter 1

Tony sighed.

Brushing his fingers over the screen of his tablet, he scrolled through another few pictures of what looked like a great apartment in a decent neighborhood, and for acceptable rent too. But this wasn't what he was looking for, not now, not anymore.

It would have been different, even six months ago. Back then, he would have jumped at the opportunity and probably signed a lease the same day after viewing the apartment. It had all the amenities he liked, was in a building large enough to have a full-time super to take care of all those pesky repairs and things he'd never liked having to deal with - he shuddered at the memory of spending hours handing Gibbs tools as the man systematically went through his own house fixing leaking faucets and tightening screws on drawers - and still not so big that he would feel lost in the sheer number of people living in the same building as him. But that was then, and things had changed.

When Tony got notice that his current building had been sold and he'd need to either buy his apartment or move, for a second, just a second, Tony had thought it was a sign. He had allowed himself only a brief moment to picture showing up at Gibbs' place, truck full of his stuff, and Gibbs opening his door and his arms for him, smiling, saying Tony would never have to leave again. But as soon as he'd thought it, he shook himself out of it, knowing it wasn't going to work like that. Yes, they had been sleeping together for over three years now, but Tony had always known that - even though they were faithful to each other and both committed - Gibbs was always going to need his space, and, truth be told, so did Tony. They usually spent a couple of nights a week together, mostly at Gibbs' place, but the other nights they each went home alone, and that suited them both fine. 

But then, four months ago, the unthinkable had happened. There had been another showdown with bad guys at Gibbs', and the house had been severely damaged. And then, before Gibbs could have the structure checked and reinforced, a blizzard hit the city and piled so much snow on top of the already groaning old house, that it simply collapsed in misery. Without even discussing anything with Tony, Gibbs accepted Ducky's offer to stay with him in his brownstone, and based on that Tony intended never to bring up moving in together. 

He was therefore surprised at what happened about a month later. He and Gibbs and four of their friends were having one of their regular nights together, hanging out. These always started with grand plans of all night poker games, elaborate barbecues, or fancy steak dinners out, but while they did sometimes do things like that, it mostly just ended up with the six of them lounging around, pizza and snacks, beer and wine and bourbon, and just relaxing, talking. 

They were a strange group, the six of them. On the surface, they didn't have much in common, but for those precious few in their lives who knew them well enough to be able to see below the layers, it made sense that they were close. In a weird way, they had very similar experiences, and only one of those experiences was being in a relationship they had never really pictured themselves being in before. These were all men who had found love where they had least expected it, and they had all struggled with it for a long time. And that wasn't even the basis of their friendship. No, what they had found in each other as friends was the shared need to protect, to serve, to learn. A mixture of curiosity and caution, experience and brash jumping in, of knowledge and strength. Tony had been the last of the six to be included in the group, introduced by Gibbs just after they got together, and when he finally realized halfway through the evening that the other four were actually two couples, he'd been stunned into silence for long minutes, long enough for Gibbs to really smirk at him. 

That particular evening, bellies full of pizza and drinks of choice in hand, they were lounging around, television playing some cartoons idly in the background, when one of them asked Tony and Gibbs how their search for new accommodations was going. Tony's end of lease was swiftly coming up and, while Gibbs was grateful to Ducky for offering him a place to stay, it was no secret to any of the others that after a month of sharing with his friend, Gibbs was getting twitchy for his own space. 

"I know how you feel, Gibbs. It was weird getting used to always having someone in the house again when the two of us moved in together, but now with these two also staying with us, it's getting a little cramped."

With a quick smirk to the two in question, the man continued.

"Not that we don't love having you, of course."

His smirk was immediately returned by the other two, one of whom replied.

"Yeah, but at least we get to snuggle up with our honeys at night. Gibbs doesn't even have that."

Tony studiously kept his head down.

"I still don't get why you didn't just move in with Tony," one of the others interjected. "I mean, it's just for a few months and you both need new places anyway… And if you need space, just get something together with enough room so you can be alone when you need to be and together when you want to be. You'd be able to get something like that easily if you pulled your resources together. Better than getting two separate places and only using them half the time."

Gibbs cleared his throat.

"Yeah… I've been thinking maybe you're right."

Tony's breath hitched and even with all his training he couldn't help throwing a surprised glance at Gibbs. Seeing the interaction, the other four continued the conversation to give the two of them a moment.

"Anyway, it looks like we'll be joining in the search on the housing market too."

"Oh yeah? Did the orders come through?"

"As if you didn't know already. We'll be staying at least six months, maybe even a year, and while we do so appreciate your hospitality, I don't think the four of us could continue living like this without at least two fatalities before that time is up."

All four of them smiled ruefully, knowing that while that was an exaggeration, the possibility of blood being drawn was not remote. They shared a deep friendship, but they too needed space.

By then, Tony and Gibbs rejoined the conversation, and somewhere along the banter, it devolved into wild speculations of the six of them getting a house together, living like frat boys, and all the mischief they could get up to.

But later that night, at Tony's apartment, when they were both sated and relaxed, Tony squinted up at Gibbs in the near darkness.

"Did you mean it?"

Gibbs took a deep breath and let it out quietly, then squeezed Tony's hand.

"Yeah, I did."

So for the last two months, Tony had been searching for something that would be acceptable to both of them, and both the seeming impossibility of it and the looming deadline of his end of lease were making him crazy. Gibbs liked houses, Tony apartments. Tony liked luxury, Gibbs rustic. Gibbs wanted space, Tony things. Tony wanted maid service, Gibbs a yard. 

And now, here he was, sitting at the juice bar in his regular gym, sipping a healthy fruit mix after a hard workout and scrolling through the DC housing market, and Tony sighed.

"Search for a new place not going well?"

Tony turned to the voice and couldn't help but smile at the buff and handsome man who had asked the question.

"Yeah, not so much."

The man smiled back and tilted his head, as if studying Tony for a moment. It felt like the man could see right through Tony's shields, and saw what was underneath. Then he nodded and pulled a card from his gym bag, handing it to Tony.

"Call this number. The place should be perfect for you and your friends."

Accepting the card with a frown on his face, Tony saw only a name and number, no other markers. But when he looked up to ask the man whether this was a realtor or something, the guy was gone. It wasn't until he was in the shower, rinsing off the sweat, that Tony realized he'd never mentioned anything about friends.

~~~~~

Tony deliberated with himself for two days, fingering the card in his pocket. Should he ignore it? Should he tell Gibbs? Should he just call? He ran the number through the NCIS search engines - feeling slightly guilty, but hey - and couldn't find it. The name on the card was simply "Catherine", so that wasn't any help either. In the end, he decided to call. A pleasant female voice answered on the second ring.

"Hello?"

"Uhm… hi."

Tony cleared his throat.

"This is Tony DiNozzo. I got your card from someone at my gym."

There was a pleased chuckle at the other end of the line.

"Handsome blond guy? Tall, with really good muscle tone?"

"I guess…"

"You must be looking for a house."

"Uhm… yeah?"

"Great! If he gave you my card, the house will be just what you want and need. Of course, you'll want to come see it first. I'm available whenever you are. My name's Cat, by the way, and I take care of the house. When would you like to come by?"

"Can I bring a friend?"

"Naturally! He'll want to see it too."

"Tomorrow morning okay for you? I know it's Saturday, but…"

"That will be fine, Tony. Around ten?"

"Sure."

"Great! Is this your cell number? I'll text you the address, and then I'll see you tomorrow. Bye!"

Before he could say anything else, the woman had already hung up. Seconds later, his phone vibrated and signaled an incoming text message with an address. A bit dazed from the conversation, Tony nevertheless quickly performed a search on the address. It wasn't on any of the housing market sites. It also didn't get any hits in the NCIS search engines. He looked up the neighborhood, which turned out to be one of the more upscale ones.

Thinking that this probably wasn't a very good idea, he still decided to go, and so that evening he told Gibbs all about what had happened. Skeptical but intrigued, Gibbs agreed to go with him the following morning.

~~~~~

When they arrived at the address the next day, they pulled up to a gate with plenty of security, beyond it a small sprawl of trees, a driveway winding among the trees in such a way that there was no clear view of the house. Gibbs squinted up at the cameras, then at the trees, then turned to Tony.

"Yeah, Tony. You know this isn't gonna happen, right?"

Tony's eyes pleaded with his lover.

"Can we at least take a look?"

Gibbs sighed, then lowered his window. Before he could find a bell or alert or something, a voice came through the intercom.

"Yes?"

"This is Special Agent Gibbs and Special Agent DiNozzo. We have an appointment with Cat."

"Ah! Yes! Can I see your IDs, please?"

Both men held up their identification to the cameras, while Tony muttered under his breath to Gibbs that it was the same voice as the woman he'd spoken to on the phone. Seemingly satisfied, the woman answered.

"Thank you. I'll open the gate. Come on up to the house."

The gate swung open and Gibbs drove through, quickly steering down the driveway. Though the drive wasn't very long, it was clear that it had been strategically placed to conceal the house. Gibbs was actually impressed, both by that and the security at the gate and other things he could see.

"This place is a fortress."

"Yeah… I wonder who lives here."

Gibbs snorted.

"I'm guessing it won't be us."

Tony sighed wistfully. Then the house came into view.

It wasn't anything ornate or elaborate, it just looked like a fine country house. There was a circular drive with a fountain in the middle, with paths leading to a large, several door garage to the left. The front of the house was two stories high, with large windows and a large front door with a portico in the middle. The door was open and a woman was standing in the doorway.

She could have been anywhere between twenty and fifty years old, her long hair was something between blond and brown, she was neither tall nor short, fat nor thin. She was dressed in black jeans and a black top, black ballerinas on her feet. In short, if a witness had to give a description of her, she would have been indescribable. Except for her eyes. They sparkled a cheery and friendly green, a green so deep and rich that it reminded them both of the jungle. She stepped forward as they got out of the car. She didn't offer either of them her hand as she introduced herself.

"Hello. I'm Cat. Welcome."

She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. Then she turned and went back inside the house. Tony and Gibbs glanced at each other, shrugged, and followed her in. 

~~~~~

The house was incredible. It was built in a U-shape, which they hadn't been able to see from the driveway. The front part - the bottom of the U - consisted of living rooms, game rooms, a library, a kitchen, and various other rooms. The left wing contained three separate apartments, each with various rooms (including kitchen and bathrooms) and very spacious. There were basements under the entire house, one outfitted as a gym, another as yet another game room, some empty. She took them outside and showed them the garage, big enough for six cars, and behind the garage was a large work shed, completely outfitted. The top of the U consisted of a large garden, and when they went through that back to the house, they saw what was sheltered by the house and garden. There was a large pool in the middle of the U, with a retractable glass roof and wall, surrounded by patios. 

Tony was in heaven. Gibbs liked it.

"The other part of the house is where I live," Cat said. "It is not accessible to anyone but me. Now, shall we go to the kitchen for coffee and agree on when you will move in?"

They followed her silently to the large kitchen and sat at the counter as she made coffee, then put a large black coffee in front of Gibbs and a cup topped with hazelnut creamer in front of Tony. She leaned back against the counter and smiled at them. 

"Look," Gibbs said. "It's nice. But we can't afford it."

Tony looked rueful, but nodded his head in agreement. Cat laughed.

"I think you'll find the rent is very agreeable. You can have your pick of the apartments, and the common rooms and everything except the right wing are for everyone's use. I clean and I cook if you so wish, and other chores such as groceries and laundry. I enjoy taking care of loved ones."

She looked around herself, as if taking in the whole house. Her pretty green eyes seemed dimmed for a moment. She spoke quietly, almost muttering to herself.

"This house used to be so full of love. It's time. Time for that again."

Then she turned back to them, and the sadness and wistfulness seemed to have fallen away completely.

"The owner of this house doesn't use much of it anymore, and wishes it to be a home again for someone. Someone deserving. I can ensure you a very good deal."

Gibbs, naturally skeptical, eyed her for a moment. Then he made the mistake of turning to Tony, and saw the longing and pleading in his eyes. He sighed.

"How much?"

She named the price. They were stunned. That was less than Tony paid for his current apartment, let alone what Gibbs still had to pay for his now rubble of a house.

"That must be a mistake," Tony said, but with hope in his eyes.

"No mistake," Cat replied. "I promise you. The owner barely has any costs here, and would like to see the place filled again."

She seemed to hesitate for a moment. 

"I believe you have friends also looking for housing?"

Before really thinking about it, Tony nodded. She smiled.

"Ask them to come over, have a look for themselves."

And that's how Gibbs - not entirely sure what was happening here - ended up making the call that changed all their lives forever.

~~~~~

Jack frowned at his ringing cell phone when he saw the caller ID, making Daniel look up at him with scrunched eyebrows from where he was curled up on the couch with a large tome.

"O'Neill," Jack said into the phone.

"Jack. It's Jethro."

Letting his smile sound in his voice, Jack replied.

"Jethro, old buddy! Tony not available? He usually makes your calls for you!"

Even though the friendship had originally started between Jack and Gibbs years ago, ever since Tony came into the picture, Gibbs had let Tony do most of the communicating. Gibbs ignored the jibe and came straight to the point.

"You busy? All four of you?"

"We're just relaxing after breakfast. And you know Sheppard and McKay… they went straight back to bed. Newlyweds..."

Gibbs could hear Daniel in the background.

"Don't complain, Jack! They might come back out just to annoy you…"

Smirking, Gibbs got back to the point.

"Remember we talked about getting a place?"

"Yeah… You and Tony found something that will suit both of you?"

"All of us."

Jack blinked. At his silence, Daniel put down his tome and stared at his lover.

"What?"

"I'm serious. Can you come out?"

"Gibbs… You know we were only kidding about that, right? I mean… The apartment here's getting a bit overcrowded, but…"

"Jack. You really wanna see this."

Jack swallowed.

"Okay. When and where?"

"Now. Tony will text Daniel the address. Come now."

And just like that, Gibbs was gone. Moments later, Daniel's phone buzzed, and he looked at the text from Tony, puzzled.

"Jack? What's going on?"

Smirking, Jack leaned over his lover and kissed his forehead.

"If I tell you, you've gotta go get John and Rodney in here."

Daniel groaned.

"No fair, Jack!"

But Jack just grinned, and Daniel, resigned to his fate, made his way to the guest room that John and Rodney were inhabiting. He knocked loudly.

"Are you decent?"

There was ruffling of sheets and chuckling to be heard from inside the room. Daniel quietly groaned. He didn't envy the two their private time, but ever since they'd gotten married in Canada only weeks before, they had really been like newlyweds, even though they had been together for years. Daniel felt a soft pang. He and Jack use to be like that too, once upon a time. Now, they never seemed to have those stolen moments anymore. Oh, they loved each other fiercely, and Daniel was happy, but still… it had been a long time since he and Jack had simply shut out the world and taken time for each other the way John and Rodney were. He sighed, and when he heard a soft affirmative from inside the room, opened the door. He still shielded his eyes, though. It wouldn't be the first time McKay and Sheppard had a different definition of 'decent' then Daniel and Jack.

"What's up, Danny?"

Daniel smirked to himself.

"You should be, John. Rodney too. Jack got a call."

He could hear rustling as the two men quickly got out of bed and into some clothes, firing questions at him at the same time.

"What is it?"

"Did they blow up my city?"

"Do we need to…"

"Guys!" Daniel interrupted, finally dropping his hand from his eyes and feeling relieved to see at least partially dressed friends.

"Not that. It was Jethro. Come on, Jack will explain."

Though Jack didn't - couldn't - really explain much more, they were on their way and arrived at the house barely half an hour after the phone call.

~~~~~

The routine was pretty much the same. Showing their IDs at the gate, carefully scoping out and commenting on the security, the woman who was polite and friendly but didn't offer her hand at introductions, the tour, and them falling love with the house. Gibbs and Tony followed along again, of course, and Tony could swear the library they'd seen before was larger now, and when Cat informed Dr. McKay that one of the rooms in one of the apartments used to be a lab, Tony was certain she had never mentioned that on his first tour. In one part of the basement, Cat looked around and almost innocently announced that it was fully soundproofed, and might make a good firing range. Afterwards, they retreated to the kitchen, and she made them all more coffee, exactly how they liked it, and smiled as they glanced at each other.

She explained the terms as she had to Tony and Gibbs. Daniel and Rodney were beaming at their significant others as much as Tony had been at Gibbs.

Eventually Jack put down his empty cup and thanked Cat for the tour and the hospitality.

"I think we all need to talk about this. You understand. It's a big change."

"Of course," she smiled. "Talk all you like. I shall see you when you move in. Tony has my number if you need anything."

~~~~~

It was inevitable, of course, that Tony had questions. Gibbs, far more used to the military mindset and part of several covert operations himself, knew the meaning of 'classified' and never asked. Even though he had known Jack O'Neill for the better part of two decades, Gibbs knew that if Jack couldn't or wouldn't say something, it was not for him to ask more. But Tony, never having been part of the military himself and with his innate curiosity, just couldn't let it lie. He noticed the fumbled cover ups in conversation when one of them was relaying a story, he tweaked to the awkward glances when one of them almost said too much. Tony knew something was up, and they all saw it.

Daniel and Jack and Sheppard discussed it amongst themselves. McKay didn't really care - after all, if DiNozzo could know the truth, he could know the full truth of Rodney's brilliance as well, so bonus! All discussion became moot at one of their nights hanging out together at Jack's place, when Samantha Carter and Teal'c were beamed in from the Apollo, right there in the living room where Tony and Gibbs were sitting as well.

Jack raised a laconic eyebrow at her.

"Carter? Company!"

"Yes, Sir. But this is an emergency."

And almost before she had finished speaking, the blonde, the huge black man, and the general were gone in a beam of white light. 

Daniel looked horrified for a moment, then schooled his features. Sheppard and McKay glanced at each other, then at Daniel, and then all three turned to Gibbs and Tony.

"So," Sheppard drawled, "I guess you have questions."

Gibbs looked stoic. Tony cleared his throat.

"So," Tony intoned, matching John's drawl almost perfectly, "aliens, huh?"

After a moment's silence, McKay snorted, Daniel blushed, and Sheppard let out a big honking laugh that had him holding his sides and curling in over Rodney's lap when it went on too long for him to stay upright. Rodney, in exasperated fondness, soothed his fingers through John's hair to calm him down.

"Ehm… yes?" Daniel's blush was receding. "But only one of them! I mean, Sam's completely human!"

"Unless you count the time she was possessed by Jolinar," Rodney added matter-of-factly.

"Rodney…" Sheppard tried to sound warningly, but messed it up by giggling a little more and then sighing in pleasure as McKay scratched his scalp harder. 

"I'm just saying, Colonel…"

"General, Rodney…"

"Yes, yes, fine, general Sheppard! You know it took me a long time to call you Colonel instead of Major, and this isn't any different! I don't care about names or titles, unless they are my own. You know this. I cannot understand how…"

"I've been a general for over two years now, Rodney."

McKay's gaze softened at the quiet words, and he fixed his blue gaze on his lover.

"I know. But to me, you'll always be John."

It would have been a very sweet moment to end with a kiss and undying love declarations, but just then, the white light, and with it general O'Neill, reappeared.

"Jack?"

Daniel was on his feet in an instant, hugging the older man to him fiercely. O'Neill hugged back.

"Nothing to worry about, Danny. Just a call. The Asgard wanted to speak to me. No worries."

Seeing the other four men heave a sigh of relief and take comfort with each other for a moment, Gibbs and Tony once again glanced at each other. They gave them their moment, and then Tony cleared his throat and repeated: "So, aliens huh?"

And that's when Tony and Gibbs got read into the Stargate program.

O'Neill figured it had its perks, being The Man.

And after that, stories when they were hanging out became a lot more interesting.

~~~~~

They moved in during the following week.

After the coffee in the kitchen and the talk with Cat, they all retreated to Jack's apartment, home to four of them, and barely able to contain six. They talked. They worried. They discussed. They laughed. They made calls and did searches, but no one found anything about the house, the woman, or anything related. They still decided to go for it.

For weeks, months, they were amazed by the house and their caretaker. Everything any of them could have ever wanted was there. Clean sheets and clothes whenever they needed, hearty meals whenever they wanted. Privacy in their own apartments and what they'd come to think of as family time most evenings. They amended the free spaces in the house the way they wanted, and especially John and Rodney had a sense of home, of Atlantis. Cat was a silent and near invisible presence. She cooked and cleaned when they weren't there, but showed up suddenly when one or two of them were feeling alone. They invited her to movie night and game night, and sometimes she joined, but she was always much more busy with taking care of them then joining in on the fun. But whenever they looked into her deep green eyes, they could see contentment there, happiness.

Of course, none of their other friends had ever been at the house.

The day would come when that would change.

~~~~~

"Sheppard," John said into his phone.

"John."

A wide smile stretched John's face as he heard the voice on the other end of the line.

"Teyla! You're early!"

"Doctor Zelenka has made improvements to the star drive. With Rodney's help, of course."

"Of course!" John smiled at Teyla's diplomacy.

"We have just arrived, but Ronon and I are anxious to see you."

"Anything wrong?"

"Nothing, John. We are just sorry we missed your wedding, and would like to congratulate you both."

John smiled and winced at the same time. Only Teyla could make something sound like a congratulations and a reproof at the same time. 

"It was kinda sudden, Teyla. Sorry about that. You know we wanted you here!"

"I know, John. It is not a problem. Just know that when you return, several of your allies will want to share in the festivities."

Sheppard barely managed to contain a groan. Even though she didn't say anything, John could hear Teyla's grin. He quickly rallied.

"Hey! You know, another Earth custom is a housewarming party! You could come to that, right?"

Teyla smirked silently. John couldn't see it, but wondered who had taught her to smirk and how to punish them.

"I don't know, John. When will this party be?"

"Ehm… I'll let you know, okay? Soon! Everyone okay?"

They talked for several minutes more, in which John learned that Atlantis and everyone on her was safe, Pegasus was calm with no return of the Wraith as of yet, and Teyla and Woolsey had their hands full these days with trade agreements and securing even more allies. ZPMs and drones were in full supply - the only reason Rodney had agreed to leave the city for the time being - and it had been decided to fly the city back to the Milky Way, to Earth, for a three month stay. Unless, of course, they got a message from Pegasus requiring their assistance. The city had safely landed at San Francisco only hours ago.

Promising to call her back soon, John rushed to tell everyone else - they were all gathered in one of the family rooms - about the good news.

"Housewarming, huh?" Jack said with a raised eyebrow.

Sheppard coughed.

"She's upset we got married without her and Ronon."

Everyone stared at him for a moment, but they all knew how John could be.

Jack looked at Daniel. 

"I know you've wanted to invite Carter and T."

"I do, Jack. And Cam and Vala too. I miss them."

Jack slung his arm around Daniel's shoulder and didn't say anything else.

"Jeannie?" John asked Rodney. The man sighed.

"Sure. And her English major husband, I suppose. Oh! And my niece and her boyfriend, of course!"

Then Rodney turned to John with a gentle expression. "You?"

Sheppard swallowed.

"I don't know. Dave maybe? I don't know."

All of them knew about John's difficult relationship with his family, and they felt for him. Even though for a while it had seemed that they had been growing closer again, lately, especially since the marriage to Rodney, things had taken a downturn again. Then they all looked to Gibbs and Tony.

Both men remained silent, clearly uncomfortable.

"Oh, come on, what??" Rodney demanded.

Tony sighed.

"We haven't told anyone."

The other four men remained silent for a good long while. It was Cat who finally broke the silence.

"So, that's Rodney's family, John's family, and their team, Jack and Daniel's team, and Jethro and Tony's team. I'll send out invitations. I'll let you know the date."

~~~~~


	2. Chapter 2

Jack leaned against the doorframe and watched with a puzzled grin as Daniel used a tape measure to carefully measure the length and breadth of the library. 

"Whatcha doing, Danny?"

Daniel looked up at his lover, his expression part intrigued, part exasperated.

"I swear this library is getting bigger, Jack! It has to be! Every time I check the index on the computer there are more titles in there, and the room even feels bigger every time I come in here, but it still measures the same. I don't get it. And all the new titles added are exactly the ones I think I'll need. I mean, one day I think 'Oh, it would be handy to have this or that compendium' and then the next day, it'll be there."

Jack stiffened, then nodded, his grin disappearing in favor of a serious look.

"Yeah, there's been a lot of that going on."

Daniel raised an enquiring eyebrow. Jack winced a little.

"I didn't tell you, because I thought I was insane."

Daniel snorted.

"With everything we've seen and done, Jack, we would be insane if we couldn't talk to each other about it."

"True."

"So? What's got you thinking it?"

"Well, for example… Remember the pool table? The one that just appeared one day, and we all had fun until Tony trounced us all?"

"Yeah?"

"I had thought just the day before that what that game room really needed was a pool table, that it would be fun to have one."

"I thought Cat said that she had ordered it weeks before?"

"Yeah, and it just happened to arrive and be set up while we were all away exactly a day after I thought it."

"I see your point."

"We should talk to the others."

So after dinner they all sat together in one of the family rooms, and Daniel described Jack and his feelings that something weird was going on.

"Have any of you experienced anything like that?"

There were definite glances exchanged between the other couples. Unusually, it was Gibbs who spoke first.

"Our gun safe moved."

"What?"

"Our gun safe moved. I thought one night it would be better to have it on the other side of the room than where it was, and the next morning it was right where I wanted it. I didn't think about it, I just went to the new location of the safe without a thought. I only realized it later."

"Yeah," Tony added, "I remember that. Also, sometimes, when I'm cooking, I'll think about a spice I'd want to add, but know we don't have. Then when I next open a cupboard, it'll be there. Or I'll think about a shirt I want to wear that I know is at the cleaners, but when I go into my closet, it's there, clean and pressed."

"Sheppard?"

John winced.

"I missed working on my bike. The next day it was in the garage."

Rodney looked at them all like they were crazy. 

"Oh, come on Rodney, you must have noticed something too?"

"Well, I do seem to always have as many computers here in my lab as I need. But that's normal."

It was true. When the Wraith were defeated and Pegasus calmed, and ZPMs became plentiful, Atlantis had started showing off a little. All those with the ATA gene could feel it, her song louder and happier then ever before, but none felt it as much as John, her favorite. And then she just started doing things. For John. And because John wanted things for Rodney, she did things for Rodney too. The first time McKay had yelled out in his lab "I could really use another tablet here!" and one just appeared out of nowhere, he'd freaked out a little. But he'd taken it and belatedly muttered a thank you to the city, and even with his artificial gene, he could feel Atlantis purr back at him. Since then, things he needed just were there when he wanted them, and he never failed to thank the city for her gifts.

"Yeah," John nodded. "Now that you mention it, this place does kinda feel like home."

And they all knew that Sheppard meant Atlantis, and the way she purred in his mind the whole time he was on or near her.

"But if you want to talk about weird," Rodney added, "what do you think about the big white tiger that prowls through our woods at night?"

The others gaped at him openmouthed.

"What?" McKay said. "What??"

~~~~~

The housewarming party was set for the next Saturday, but most of the guests not from DC arrived one or two days earlier. Teyla and Ronon were the first to arrive, beamed in by the Daedalus, because their being Pegasus natives made normal travel difficult. After heartfelt hugs with John and Rodney, and then Daniel and Jack, they were introduced to Gibbs and Tony. Both NCIS agents found Teyla deeply impressive with her looks and demeanor, but Gibbs eyed Ronon warily, especially after Ronon and Tony struck up a fast and deep friendship, bonding over video games and Ronon's ability and desire to eat anything and everything that Tony cooked up in the kitchen. Gibbs warmed up to Ronon though when he discovered his ability with knives, and the way he had them hidden all over his body.

They both ribbed John and Rodney for getting married without them present, but to was clear to all that it was done with love and affection. And repeated promises were made that the ceremony would be repeated once they were all back on Atlantis, so all could share in the festivities. As was expected, Teyla and Ronon bunked in the spare bedroom in John and Rodney's apartment, and the four spent the evening together, catching up as a team after having been apart for many weeks.

The next day saw the arrival of SG1. Sam, Cameron, Vala and Teal'c had chosen a more mundane means of travel, and they arrived together in a big SUV. Introductions were made, a tour of the house given, and then the catching up began. Tony had seldom laughed so hard in his life as the Milky Way and Pegasus natives tried to outdo each other with the most outrageous stories of their adventures and mishaps. Rooms were set up for them by Cat in the main part of the house, in her usual, unseen manner.

In fact, that evening was the first time the guests met Cat. The guys had wanted to introduce her earlier, but she had remained absent until dinner that night. She greeted them all gracefully and cordially, but many noticed the way Teyla and Ronon kept glancing at her, and the way she smiled back at them. After dinner, Cat retreated to her own quarters, and the Pegasus natives watched her go warily.

"John?" Teyla asked quietly.

"Yeah?"

"Are you certain about this house?"

Everyone was silent and following the conversation.

"What do you mean, Teyla?"

Ronon answered instead.

"This place is weird. So is she."

And he pointed in the direction Cat had retreated to.

The six men shared a quick glance before John spoke again.

"Look, I know what you mean, I mean… this house… it…"

Teyla finished what John couldn't say.

"It feels like Atlantis."

Then Ronon startled them all by adding: "So does she."

~~~~~

The night air was still warm and the trees smelled good. The small animals scurrying amongst the leaves smelled good too. The white tiger looked up at the house, and saw the lights of Dr. McKay's lab still on, his silhouette clearly outlined as he looked down at the white form barely hidden in the dark shadows of the trees.

~~~~~

The next morning - the day of the party - Jack waited until they had all finished their breakfast before he cleared his throat to get their attention.

"So… Two things about today. The first, I realize you all know, but can bear repeating. Not everyone coming today has been read in. So no alien talk!"

Vala grinned mischievously, Teyla serenely, Ronon snorted and Teal'c raised an eyebrow. 

"The second," Jack continued after a glare at them all, "Tony and Gibbs aren't out to their team. Don't say or do anything that may divulge their relationship."

In the midst of the curious glances the others threw at Gibbs and DiNozzo, Ronon dropped his fork onto his plate and growled.

"Not this shit again!"

Tony laughed, startled, and put his hand on the shoulder of the big man sitting next to him, the man he'd come to really like over the past two days.

"Ronon…"

"No!" Ronon interrupted, turning to Tony. "What is it with you people? First I gotta watch Sheppard and McKay make goo goo eyes at each other for years, being told left and right that I can't say anything about it, or do anything about it, even though everyone but them knows. They finally get sorted out and now I gotta keep quiet about another friend?"

As a stunned silence fell over the gathering, Tony swallowed.

"I'm your friend?" he asked softly.

Ronon huffed.

"Of course you are. Your knife skills could use some work, but you're a good guy. I'd trust you to have my back."

No one knew who was more surprised, Ronon or them, when Tony quickly embraced the big guy and whispered: "Thank you."

Ronon awkwardly patted Tony on the shoulder, then pulled back and looked at him.

"You really wanna hide this?"

Tony bit his lip, glanced at Gibbs, then nodded.

"For now. Not always. I…"

"Okay."

Ronon patted Tony's shoulder again, then smirked.

"You're gonna owe me some more of those beef pastry things for this."

Tony laughed, and so did everyone else.

"Anytime, Ronon, my friend, anytime."

~~~~~

The party was already well underway when the doorbell rang again. 

The NCIS people had arrived about an hour earlier, and they and everyone else were clearly enjoying themselves in and around the pool. Food and drink were plenty, games were everywhere, and laughter and talk rang throughout the entire place. Abby and Ziva had immediately been fascinated by Ronon, Abby simply by his looks and the way he hovered protectively over Tony, and Ziva by the fact that the man pulled a knife out of his hair to peel a peach. She had never managed to hide a knife in her hair, and longed to learn the trick.

McGee talked computers with McKay, finding his gruff manner actually entertaining, and when Sheppard joined them and started talking computer games, the three hit it off pretty quickly. Ducky was finding Teyla an interesting conversational partner, and Jimmy Palmer was snatched up by Vala, who enjoyed making him blush seven shades with her outrageous talk. Jeannie was catching up with Sam, and Madison and her boyfriend were playing water volleyball with Cam and Daniel, as Jack and Teal'c kept score.

Everyone was either mingling or playing or eating, and Cat smiled at the assembled crowd before she went into the house to open the door to the ringing bell. Security had been relaxed for the day - she'd do a sweep later before locking up again.

As she opened the door, she pasted a pleasant expression on her face. Not even she was sure how this would go. A man in a suit and a woman in a cocktail dress stood on the front step.

"Hello," Cat said, "you must be Mr and Mrs Sheppard. Welcome."

At the nod at their names, Cat stepped aside and let them in. Then she led them through the house, ignoring their curious and incredulous looks at the rooms they could see, and brought them to the pool and patio area. She heard the stutter in their steps as they saw the gathered people, most clad in swimwear, but decidedly led them over to where John and Rodney were talking with Tim McGee. As she reached them, Cat cleared her throat.

"John. Rodney."

"Yeah?" John said as he looked up. His eyes grew wide when he saw his brother and sister-in-law standing there, looking uncomfortable. The whole yard seemed to quiet down a little as everyone in the know tried surreptitiously watching what would happen. 

John froze. It was actually Rodney who stood up unashamedly in his board shorts and bare chest, and held out his hand.

"David, Kathy. Thank you for coming."

"Dr. McKay," David responded as they shook hands.

"Rodney, please," Rodney responded. "This is Timothy McGee."

Sensing the tension in the air, McGee got up and introduced himself to the newcomers. It all gave John time to collect himself, and by the time McGee was done, John was up and shaking hands with his brother, a grateful look in his eyes.

"When did McKay learn manners?" Jack queried quietly.

"Or get the ability to remember names?" Cam snorted.

"Must be love," Daniel answered.

"Indeed." Teal'c said with a raised eyebrow.

~~~~~

It took an hour or so of John and David making tentative overtures at each other before Madison roped them both into a game in the pool. A laughing protest from Dave about proper attire brought him to the pool house, where most of the others had found garments of their choice earlier. Kathy looked distinctly displeased by the whole thing, especially when Dave jumped into the pool and joined in the games, and decided to remain on the far patio with Dr. Mallard and Teyla, who seemed the most dignified of the lot. Kathy got chills every time the woman Cat brought her a new drink, not just from the way Cat looked at her, but just from her mere presence as well. She got the distinct feeling the woman disapproved of her.

Meanwhile, Kathy herself disapproved of the way these people were behaving, and in particular her husband. Not only was David disheveled and wet in a pool, but he was getting closer to John. They were talking and laughing now, and had even excused themselves from the game so they could speak together more quietly. Kathy huffed, and went inside to find a restroom. As she stepped out, she was confronted with Cat, who was leaning casually against the wall across from the door.

"Comfortable?" Cat asked.

"Not really."

"I understand. This is the house that love built. Envy or hatred has no place here."

And with that, the strange woman turned and walked away, leaving Kathy with a very sour taste in her mouth.

~~~~~

The party wound down, and goodbyes were said, and Abby hugged Gibbs and Tony.

"This is a really great place! You are so lucky you found it! Can we come again?"

"Sure, Abbs," Tony promised through the hug. "Just call first, okay? These guys really enjoy their privacy."

"You know, I really envy you. Not only do you have this great place, but you're rooming with some seriously hot guys."

She looked pointedly at Tony. He flushed.

"Forget it, Abby. They're all taken."

She turned to glance at Gibbs.

"All of them?"

Gibbs kissed her cheek.

"Yes, Abbs. All of them."

She smiled. She had a feeling she had her answer.

~~~~~

David embraced his brother before he left. 

"Keep in touch, okay?"

"You sure you want me to?"

Dave glanced at his wife, then turned back to John. But they all knew he was speaking to her as much as to John.

"Of course. You're my brother. I love you. Nothing will ever change that."

They hugged again.

~~~~~

The Daedalus beamed Teyla and Ronon out, SG1 left with promises to return soon. An almost strange quiet settled over the house after all the activity of the day. The men retired to their apartments.

~~~~~

"Daniel?"

"Hmmm?" 

Daniel looked up from his tome to see Jack, casually sprawled against the wall, wearing only a towel around his waist. Daniel almost salivated. 

"Do you have anything to do tomorrow?"

Daniel put away his book and thumbed off his glasses.

"Tomorrow? Ehmm… Yes? I have a meeting with…"

"Tomorrow's Sunday, Daniel."

"I know, but…"

"I think you should skip it."

Daniel scooted down on the bed a little more, trying to hide a grin.

"Yeah? What do I have to do tomorrow that's more important than…"

"Me…?"

It was both a question and an answer, both a promise and a plea. Daniel would never be able to resist that. Especially when Jack slowly undid the towel and crawled onto the bed between Daniel's legs.

Jack licked and nuzzled his way up Daniel's legs until he reached his shorts. Jack grumbled.

"These'll have to go, Spacemonkey."

"Go for it, General."

Jack sank his teeth into the material and started tugging the offending shorts down Daniel's legs. By the time he reached Daniel's feet, they were both giggling so hard they had to lay back and breathe for a while. Daniel curled around his lover and brushed his hand up and down Jack's spine, feeling Jack's hands caress him wherever they could reach. 

"Jack?"

"Hmm, yeah?" Jack asked between slow kisses to Daniel's throat.

"Can we?"

Jack pulled back a little.

"Can we what?"

"I've been kinda jealous, I guess? Of John and Rodney. The way they are. We used to…"

"Danny…"

"No, Jack, I'm serious. I love you, and I love what time we have together, but I miss…"

"I know. Me too."

Then Jack kissed Daniel deeply, and rolled him onto his back. 

"I know this isn't gonna make up for it, but let it be a start, okay?"

Jack's eyes pleaded with Daniel, and the younger man couldn't help a smile.

"Nothing to make up for, Jack. Just love me?"

And for what felt like hours, Jack did just that, using his lips and teeth and tongue, his fingers and hands, his entire body, until Daniel was a puddle on their sheets.

~~~~~

"You okay?"

John snuggled closer into Rodney's warmth. God, how had he ever survived without the permanent heat that was Rodney in his bed? Without Rodney's fingers in his hair?

"I'm fine."

"Yes, of course you are. You're always fine, aren't you? Even when you're flying off in a jumper towards two hives, you're always fine. Why do I even bother?"

Sheppard could feel a McKay rant building a mile away, and this one was very much closer.

"Rodney?"

"What?!"

"I love you."

"Yes… Well… I…"

John pressed his lips softly against Rodney's nipple, and the scientist moaned.

"That… is decidedly unfair, Major… Colonel… General… John…"

John smiled as he rolled on top of his lover, and continued to make Rodney lose his mind.

~~~~~

"Jethro?"

"Everything's fine, Tony."

"But I think Abby..."

"Everything's fine. It's gonna be fine."

Tony clamped his legs around Gibbs' hips.

"God, yes!"

Gibbs smiled.

"Fine, Tony."

~~~~~

The white tiger, after making its rounds around the grounds, looked up at the house, and smiled a feline laugh. The humans would need breakfast. And maybe lunch. But the white tiger wouldn't see much of them until dinner. That was fine. Everything was fine. The tiger purred and connected with Cat. She smiled and said everything was fine too.

They were both startled when they heard the car racing up to them.


	3. Chapter 3

There was a flash of bright blue light, and the muffled sound of an impact, and the tiger's whiskers trilled in the subtle displacement of air. Green eyes watched dispassionately as steam rose from the now disfigured front of the big black car, then as four men exited the vehicle, their curses soft through the gate. The men shook themselves, then one by one realized they were being watched. They turned their gazes to the gate again, and saw a big white tiger sitting serenely on the other side of the gate, resting on its back haunches with its tail wrapped around its paws. Amidst squeaks of 'Shit!' and 'What the hell??', the men drew guns and pointed them at the beast. It tilted its head to one side as it eyed them curiously.

Soft popping sounds of bullets being fired were followed almost instantaneously by small flashes of blue light. When the men finally stopped firing and lowered their guns, the tiger was… still sitting there, its tilted head now seeming to convey amusement rather than curiosity. As the men gaped, the white tiger rose to its paws and almost disdainfully turned its back on them and with huge loping strides disappeared into the woods.

Inside the house, Cat watched the security monitors and turned up the sound a little.

"I don't know what on earth is going on here, but I didn't sign up for anything like this!", one of the men shrieked.

"I'm with you, buddy! Let's get the hell out of here!", another replied, and they all jumped back into the car and managed to get it running enough to take them away from the unharmed gate and down the street.

Cat sighed. She would have to tell the men. This was a complication that, though not entirely unexpected, she had hoped to avoid. She tilted her head and listened to the sounds of the house. Yes, she would have to tell them, but not now. Right now, her charges were safe, and together, and relaxing after a full day of friends, fun and some tension. They deserved a rest.

~~~~~

It never failed to amuse Daniel to watch people's reactions to being read into the Stargate Program. Gibbs, usually stoic, was glued to the screen, clearly taking in every detail. Tony, always much more expressive, even though Daniel had quickly learned that what Tony was showing was not always what he was actually feeling, was riveted, a delighted and awed smile on his face. Jack was actually kind of jealous. In the early days, reading someone in had involved a lot of talking and presentations with PowerPoint slides. These days, they had a slick video, composed of footage shot for a (still) classified documentary about the SGC, additional bits added by Walter Harriman of all people who had turned out to be some kind of amateur movie director, and parts of an introductory video McKay had ordered Dr. Zelenka to make about Atlantis once when Zelenka had irked Rodney enough for the physicist to want to take revenge on his friend and colleague.

John and Rodney weren't paying much attention, except when Zelenka came on screen, and then they grinned and chuckled at the irritation the good doctor had obviously felt at having to do this stupid assignment for Rodney. When the video was over, the four SGC men turned to their friends.

"Huh," Gibbs said.

Tony grinned brightly.

"It's just like Wormhole X-Treme!"

Jack groaned as Daniel, John and even Rodney chuckled.

"There's a reason for that, Tony," Daniel said. "But we'll get to that later."

Tony nodded.

"It looks so cool! What's it like? I mean, when you go through the Stargate. What's it feel like?"

"Cool," Jack replied.

Tony looked at him, puzzled. Daniel sighed.

"What Jack means is, at first, it felt cold. We'd come out on the other side covered in ice."

"Yes, but when Sam finally realized that I was right and that her cobbled together dialing computer was messing with the parameters, and that she should be integrating the DHD protocols, that problem was solved as well." Rodney huffed.

Jack shot him a small glare.

"You can never let that go, can you?"

Rodney glared right back.

"She got me exiled to Siberia."

John patted his lover's hand.

"Yes, but then you and I went to Atlantis, and then she came as well, and you buried the hatchet and became friends, remember?"

Rodney still huffed a little, but then relented. 

"You're right, John."

And McKay gave Jack a small smile by means of apology. Everyone knew Rodney didn't really do apologies, something he had in common with Gibbs, so Jack accepted it for what it was with a nod and moved on. He turned back to Tony.

"Danny's right. But I also meant it was cool as in awesome." They saw his eyes twinkling now. "I mean, I've had Carter and Daniel and even the damn video explain it to me many times, how it works, but to me it's just this weird thing where you're on Earth one second and halfway across the galaxy the next. That never fails to be cool."

John nodded in agreement.

"I'm with the General on that one. Even though it's a bit unnerving as well. I mean, you never really know what you're gonna find on the other side, despite the MALPs and intelligence from Teyla and Ronon. Things can change quickly. One day, it's a friendly planet, the next, you're running for your life the moment you step through the gate."

The other three SGC men nodded solemnly. Tony changed the subject.

"Those puddle jumpers seem very cool too?"

John smiled dreamily.

"They are. They're amazing. They do anything you want the second you think it. There's nothing quite like flying them."

"Yes, to you, General Super-Gene! Most of us really have to concentrate to get the damn things to even fly in a straight line!" Rodney huffed, then looked almost wistfully at the others. "He loves them more than he loves me."

But they could all tell that it was just fond banter, and Rodney knew that wasn't really true. Nevertheless, John responded earnestly.

"I could live without the jumpers, even without Atlantis, but I could never live without you, Rodney."

And the others watched in amusement as the two confirmed the truth of that statement with soft, loving kisses.

Tony had a million other questions, of course, and even Gibbs threw in one or two, and the rest of the evening was spent talking. At the end of the night, when they were getting ready to leave, Tony turned to his friends.

"So… All those stories you've told us so far of your missions? You're gonna have to tell them to me again, this time not leaving out the juicy stuff. I mean, I knew you were leaving things out, I just hadn't realized that this would be it. There's gotta be some hot alien princesses in there, right?"

Rodney huffed, and Jack snorted. They spoke at the same time.

"Oh yeah, Sheppard's a real Kirk."

"You betcha, Danny's got a girl on every planet."

John and Daniel threw exasperated glares at their respective lovers, as Gibbs and Tony left, laughing loudly.

~~~~~

When Gibbs came down to the main kitchen the next morning, coffee and several breakfast foods were already set out as usual, being kept warm in covered dishes. Even though they all had a kitchen in their own apartments, it had quickly become habit to eat most of their meals together in the main part of the house. As she had said when they had first come to look at the house, Cat enjoyed cooking for them, and even though she was seldom there when they actually ate the heavenly food she prepared and rarely saw her do it, the few times she stuck around to share their meal, they could clearly see the contentment in her eyes at their enjoyment of her food.

Normally, it was either Gibbs or O'Neill who came down first. While John was usually also up (military habits die hard), he often chose to run around the grounds a couple of times before breakfast. Rodney and Daniel often worked until late at night, and therefore usually slept late as well, and Tony liked to take his time in the bathroom before joining the others. 

Gibbs grabbed a tray, placed one the carafes of coffee on it, and then filled two plates with delicious smelling food. Breakfast in bed was not something he would indulge in, but yesterday had been the housewarming party, and had been a little stressful for Tony when he realized Abby might have tweaked to their relationship. Gibbs didn't really care. Once he'd decided that living with Tony was something that he could do, something that he wanted even though Tony had never asked for it, he'd relaxed about the whole thing. There was no denying anymore that he loved Tony, and that the past three years were not just some friendly blowing off steam thing. In truth, he'd known that from the beginning, but it had taken him this long to finally admit it to himself. With a quiet chuckle, he admitted that this was a quicker acknowledgement than the one that he wanted Tony in the first place. That had taken years more. But once Gibbs was in, he was all in.

When he was taking the full tray back upstairs to treat Tony, fully intending to keep the man in bed for a little while longer today, Gibbs passed O'Neill on the stairs. Eyeing the tray in Gibbs' hands, Jack smirked.

"You too, huh?"

Gibbs smirked back ruefully but happily.

"Oh yeah. Gotta keep the boys satisfied, right?"

Jack nodded.

"Yeah, sure, you betcha. Enjoy!"

"You too, Jack. You too."

Jack found his own tray and, like Gibbs, loaded it up with coffee and food. Daniel was still fast asleep, tired after a long night of loving, but Jack's internal clock woke him at the same time every day, no matter how tired he was. He had lain there, watching Daniel sleep for a while, still marveling at his luck that this wonderful man had found it in his heart to love him back. He winced a little when Daniel's confession of the night before crossed his mind, that Daniel was feeling a little jealous of John and Rodney in their honeymoon phase. Even though Jack could never imagine loving McKay like that - though he had to admit he'd grown fond of the man over the years - there was no denying that John and Rodney were perfectly happy together. He also couldn't deny the truth of Daniel's words. Jack and Daniel had been so busy with the program ever since Daniel came to Washington permanently, that they really hadn't taken the time to just be together the way John and Rodney were doing now, even though those two were still working as well. 

Last night had been amazing. Jack had pulled out all the stops, making Daniel completely incoherent with his caresses and kisses, keeping Daniel on edge until he was begging. Jack grinned at himself. Oh yeah, he still had it. Daniel had been putty in his hands all night, and then had fallen asleep in a drained puddle, his head tucked under Jack's chin, his limp arms still somehow clinging to Jack. O'Neill promised himself and Daniel quietly that for today, and from now on, they would take the time to be together. Starting with breakfast in bed. And then lunch. And maybe dinner.

Jack was piling a few more pancakes onto an already full plate when Sheppard, dressed only in shorts and t-shirt, yawning and rubbing a hand through his always unruly hair, came into the kitchen.

"Hey," Jack greeted him. "No run today?"

"Nah," John replied. "Rodney'll be hungry after the night we just had."

John grinned at Jack's wince. 

"I don't wanna know that, General."

"Then don't ask, General."

They both chuckled, and Jack took his tray and made his way back upstairs.

John followed the example of the other two, and loaded a tray. Yesterday had been great and weird at the same time. It was good having his friends there, being with them again after their long weeks apart, and he was ridiculously pleased to be able to share his happiness about finally being married to Rodney with Teyla and Ronon. Jeannie and her family had been at the wedding, but having them here, seeing how they had friends and a great home together, made him proud. Knowing that Atlantis was on Earth and therefore relatively close made him happy as well. Then Dave and Kathy showed up. It had been a huge shock to John that they actually came, and he hadn't known how to react or what to think. But then Rodney had stepped in, and slowly John and Dave had started to talk. Kathy had been clearly disapproving, but something had made her keep to the background. Once Madison had gotten Dave and John into the pool, the two brothers had started talking for real, and by the time Dave left, John had felt closer to his brother than he had in years. John really hoped that they could hold onto and expand this tentative new beginning, and promised himself to do everything he could on his part to do so.

His mind conjured up pictures from the party the day before while he piled food onto plates. Even though he had been spending most of his time with Dave, John hadn't lost sight of his team. Teyla and Ronon had seemed to enjoy themselves, getting to know some of Gibbs and Tony's friends. Ronon had barely left Tony's side at all, having found a connection with him immediately. It was something John admired in Ronon. Even after seven years alone as a Runner, Ronon had quickly adapted to the people on Atlantis, and now seemed to expand that easy familiarity wherever he went if he found the right person. John had come to know Tony quite well since they first met a few years before, through Gibbs, and probably understood more of Tony's insecurities than the others, except Daniel, but then Daniel was always a little different. 

John worried though, because Tony and Gibbs were still hiding their relationship from their team. He knew what that was like, and the strain it could and did put on the couple. But he couldn't judge their decision to keep quiet, because even after he and Rodney finally got together, they had done the same in the beginning. It was only when Teyla and Ronon let them know that they already knew, and that most of Atlantis had speculated about them for years, that he and Rodney had finally become open about it. It had still felt dangerous at the time, with his being military and all, but Atlantis and its people had either rallied for them or just didn't seem to care one way or another. Honestly, in Pegasus there were much better things to worry about than who was sleeping with whom. John just hoped that Tony and Gibbs could find that too.

He was just putting a last few rashers of bacon onto a plate when the door opened and Cat stepped in.

"Good morning, John. Sleep well?"

"Morning! Still a bit tired, to tell you the truth," he replied with a grin.

She smiled back.

"Good. You and the others rest up a bit more. I shall have lunch prepared later when you're all ready."

John eyed her intently for a moment.

"Everything okay, Cat?"

"Everything is fine for now, John. Go. Rodney will be wanting coffee and food soon, I think."

John smiled at her and nodded, then departed the kitchen to go feed his husband.

~~~~~

"Please, Rodney? Just a little longer?" Daniel wheedled, as Jack opened the door to his place to let Tony and Gibbs in. John and Rodney had gated in from Atlantis for one of their now regular IOA meetings and been beamed to Jack's apartment a few hours earlier for one of their nights of hanging out together. 

At their surprised look, Jack grinned at the two new arrivals and ushered them in. Rodney's voice was irritated, but still somehow fond.

"Get one of the Generals to do it, Dr. Jackson. I'm done being a light switch for the day! I am usually the one who analyses, you know, not the one who just has to think 'on' at stuff!"

"But Rodney," Daniel continued, "John's taking a shower and Jack's busy making chilli! I just need a few more minutes, honestly. Please?"

Jack smirked. Not even the great Dr. Rodney McKay could refuse a Dr. Daniel Jackson with pleading tone, and - even though Jack couldn't see his lover just then - undoubtedly puppy dog eyes and pouty lower lip.

"Fine," Rodney huffed. "But I am quickly getting tired of this! I'm a very important man, you know, with experiments of my own!"

The glee was evident in Daniel's voice when he replied.

"I know, Rodney, and thank you so much for assisting me."

"Assisting? Assisting?! How dare you, you… you… you archeologist! How someone with your intelligence could choose not to practice real science is still beyond me!"

Jack strategically retreated to the kitchen for some more stirring of chilli, and Tony and Gibbs warily approached the living room, where they found Rodney staring intently at some kind of device that projected hieroglyph-type symbols in the air above it, and Daniel eagerly jotting them down into one of his ever present journals. Tony frowned.

"So, this is one of those Ancient devices you guys have been telling us about?"

At hearing Tony's voice, Rodney's attention wavered and the symbols blinked out.

"Rodney!" Daniel complained, but saw Rodney's focus was lost.

"Yes, it is. And out of the kindness of my heart" - snorts all around - "I brought it back for Dr. Jackson to study. It's part of a database I thought he would be interested in. I didn't know he was going to make ME be the one to initialize it! If I had, I never would have given it to him!"

Intrigued, Tony approached, reaching out to touch it. But before his fingers reached the device, Gibbs was there, snatching it up.

"Tony, no. After all those stories of theirs, I don't want you just touching stuff like this."

"Oh, please!" Rodney huffed. "The gene is very rare as I told you, and it would be extremely unlikely for either of you to have it. I mean, you obviously don't, Gibbs. Unless you're actively thinking 'off' at it right now?"

Rodney sounded mildly hopeful, and Gibbs just shook his head.

"Not thinking anything right now, McKay, other than I don't want Tony touching it!"

Of course, that lasted all of five minutes, because then Gibbs went into the kitchen to get himself and Tony a beer, and Tony eagerly reached out for the object. His fingers barely made contact before the weird symbols floated in the air above it again.

"Holy crap!" Rodney yelled.

"Hmmm…" Daniel murmured.

A worried O'Neill and Gibbs came racing from the kitchen, a wet Sheppard from the bathroom.

"Of course," Gibbs sighed.

~~~~~

That Sunday evening six very relaxed, happy and satisfied men gathered in the main kitchen for their dinner, pleased to find Cat there as well. She cooked and provided them with drinks, smiling a pleased little grin as they moaned ecstatically through their full mouths. The meal finished, she quickly cleared away the last of the dishes, then faced them. Switching on the large television screen in the corner of the kitchen, Cat sighed.

"Gentlemen. There is something we need to speak about."


	4. Chapter 4

The very first time ever that Tony kissed Gibbs, it did not go well.

Tony was tentative, scared even. He kept his hands to himself, kept his eyes just that little bit open so he could see what was going on.

Gibbs was impassive. There was no return of moving lips, no tongue sneaking out, no soft moan, there were no fingers moving up his sides. Their noses brushed, but not in a pleasant way. 

"Right," Tony said, "so, we probably won't be doing that again. Though I can do better! But… I guess that's not something you'd want. Right. Of course not. What was I thinking. That's just... Please don't fire me, Gibbs. I swear, I'll never do that again! Never! I just… I…"

When he couldn't stand Tony floundering anymore, Gibbs gave Tony a very mild slap to the back of the head.

"Go to bed, DiNozzo. In the guest room."

Tony stared at his boss for a moment, his gaze a mixture of disappointment and gratitude.

"Yes, Boss. Thank you, Boss."

And Tony disappeared quietly up the stairs, where Gibbs heard him shuffle through his bathroom and changing routine, and Gibbs sighed to himself. 

Damn it! Why couldn't he just have kissed back?!

~~~~~

Cat showed them the footage of the car trying to hit the gate, then the men firing on something. While the others froze, Rodney and John merely sighed and glanced at each other.

"What was that?"

When Cat didn't answer, Rodney glared at her, the first time any of them had ever dared such a move or expression.

"Show us the rest."

Cat stared at him for a moment, then smiled.

"Of course, Dr. McKay."

The clip showed again, but this time, there were several more screens, showing the attackers in more detail, the blue flashes of light, and two highlighting the white tiger, sitting there, almost laughing.

Daniel and Jack turned to the New Lanteans. 

"Was that…"

But Jack's question was stopped by the look on Rodney's face, his gaze fixed on the white tiger, his fingers reaching out and clearly itching to stroke the huge animal even through the screen. John sighed. Of course Rodney was fascinated by the big cat. Rodney had been missing having a pet cat ever since they came to Atlantis, and John had to admit the tiger was beautiful. John shook his head and answered Jack's aborted question.

"Yeah, just like the Atlantis shields."

As soon as John said it, even Tony and Gibbs recognized the bright blue flashes of light as similar to what they had seen in the introductory video to the Stargate program they had been shown some years before, in the part where Dr. Zelenka explained Atlantis' shielding technology. They all turned to Cat, but before anyone else could say anything, Rodney demanded Cat's attention.

"Do you have a ZedPM in your rooms? Is that why we're not allowed in there?"

Cat grinned mischievously at the physicist.

"Maybe? A tiny one?"

As Rodney gaped and nearly went into hyperventilating shock, John rubbed his lover's back soothingly. When Rodney at last got his breath back, he fired his questions at her.

"Where did you get it? How does it work? What does it do here? How could I have been in this house for weeks now without getting any readings of ZedPM technology?"

But before Cat had the chance to even start to answer, John asked what the others were thinking.

"Who are you?"

~~~~~

The very first time ever that Daniel kissed Jack, it was meaningless to both of them.

SG1 had started exploring the galaxy a few months before, looking for allies, alien tech, knowledge, Sha're. They'd been turned into cave people by some virus, met some intelligent crystals, nearly lost Jack to rapid aging, nearly harmed a bunch of white aliens by disrupting the song of their plants, and all sorts of other things. 

This was their first time at a harvest festival.

Sam had found naquadah deposits on the planet, and they had been eager to strike a mining agreement for it with the natives, who cared nothing for the naquadah themselves as they had no use for it. The negotiations were going well when the village elder announced that they would break for the rest of the day and continue tomorrow, since that afternoon and evening their people would celebrate the harvest. Grumbling at the delay but always up for a good party, O'Neill had accepted the invitation to join in the festival and stay overnight, and had checked in with General Hammond at the SGC to explain the circumstances.

Food and drink was plentiful, and there was music and dancing, and Daniel was in his anthropological element. He was eagerly making comparisons of what he was seeing to other cultures he knew, and videotaping much of it for further study once back home. He was so wrapped up in it all that Jack had to nudge him three times before he actually got Daniel's attention. 

"Daniel!"

"What? Yes, Jack?"

"What's with the kissing?"

Daniel glanced around and saw that those gathered around their campfire were kissing the person sitting next to them. He blushed a little.

"Oh! Yes, well, the elder explained that. It's part of the harvest ritual. Because they all have to help each other with the harvest, they need to be friendly with each other. This is kind of like 'love thy neighbor', only they express it by kissing the one they're sitting next to."

Daniel glanced around again, and then hissed to his teammates.

"And by the look on the elder's face right now, I suggest we join in the ritual if we want the negotiations to continue tomorrow."

They all looked at the man, and saw an expression on his face that was quickly turning to displeased. 

Jack sighed. To his left was Daniel, to his right Teal'c, with Sam on T's other side. Before Jack could even begin to make a decision, Sam smiled at the big black man and said: "What do you say, Teal'c?"

"I would be most pleased to share in this ritual with you, CaptainCarter," Teal'c intoned, and barely a second later, their lips met in a deep kiss.

Shrugging, Jack turned back to Daniel, and huffed: "The things I do for my scientists…"

Then he laid one on Daniel. It was not his best, but he wasn't going for that. He just wanted to get across to the elder that they were open to their traditions, so they could continue their negotiations, Carter could get her naquadah and Daniel could geek out over the rest of the festival.

When he pulled back from the kiss, he found Daniel blinking up at him. The only thing the usually verbose archeologist said before he turned back to watching the natives was: "Huh."

That was the first of many kisses shared by Jack and Daniel, Sam and Teal'c, in any and every combination possible between the four of them. All for the good of the mission, of course.

As it turned out, they were not the only SG team to have such experiences, and it even carried over to Pegasus. When, several years into the expedition, then Colonel Sheppard was shown a screenshot of Major Lorne and Dr. Parrish kissing, by one of the newly arrived marines who felt he should bring this to his CO's attention, Sheppard shrugged. "Don't worry about it, son," he said. "It must have been a harvest festival."

~~~~~

"I am Cat," she replied to John's question.

And right in front of their stunned eyes, the woman who had been taking care of them for long weeks now turned into the big white tiger, its green eyes sparkling at them as they sat frozen in their seats. It, she, very slowly and carefully, walked around the kitchen counter so they could see her fully, then, equally carefully, nudged her nose into one of Rodney's hands. Unable to resist, McKay felt the soft fur, running his fingers up her nose until he reached the fur between her ears, and started petting her.

"You're so beautiful," he whispered reverently.

"That's so cool!" John squeaked happily.

"I thought we'd left the weird shit behind when we came to Washington," Jack complained to Daniel, who nodded.

Tony just gaped. Gibbs cleared his throat.

"Okay, so she's a cat. Doesn't explain who those guys were, and what the hell they want."

~~~~~

The very first time ever Rodney kissed John, it was kind of without thought.

It was a few months after Rodney had recovered from Second Childhood, where he'd started to lose his mind until all he could remember was John, and had been saved by some daring brain surgery with power tools in a cave. Even though they rarely mentioned anything about that painful and harrowing experience, John knew Rodney still had nightmares about losing his brilliance, and it was brought home one night as they were sharing a hut on an overnight mission.

John, always a light sleeper, woke the moment Rodney started moaning and fidgeting in his sleep. He got out of his own bed and moved to Rodney's, trying to wake his friend by shaking Rodney's shoulder. When Rodney woke with a start, in his sleep induced haze he clung to the one friendly presence, and wrapped his arms around John, not quite sobbing, but definitely in distress as he breathed harshly into John's neck.

"Oh god, it was horrible," Rodney shivered.

"I know, buddy, I know," John soothed his armful of Rodney. "But it's over now. You're fine, we're fine."

Rodney sighed deeply, trying to get himself to calm down as Sheppard's hands ran softly up and down Rodney's spine. It reminded John of the night near the end of Rodney's Second Childhood, when Rodney had come running to him in the middle of the night, John's name the only thing he could remember, John's presence the only thing that could calm him. After a few minutes, Rodney was relaxed enough to lie back onto his bed again to try to get some more sleep.

But before John could release him, Rodney softly kissed his lips.

"Thanks, John," Rodney murmured, then turned onto his side and promptly fell asleep again.

John brushed his hand through Rodney's thinning hair, and whispered: "Any time, buddy. Sleep now."

Then John sighed and got back into his own bed, rolling over and falling asleep almost instantly.

It wasn't until morning when he woke up again, that John actually fully realized they'd kissed.

~~~~~

The white tiger put its front paws on Rodney's knees, and just like that, the woman Cat was standing in front of him again.

"Gibbs is right," she said. "I do not know who those men were, hired goons is most likely from their conversation. But hired by who? And why? This I do not know."

Cat walked around the counter again and started a fresh pot of coffee as if nothing had happened. 

"I have the feeling though that this is not new. I have felt a presence around the house only since the very first time you came here. Therefore I doubt they are after me, so it must mean they are here for one of you. Have any of you noticed anything odd lately?"

They stared at her incredulously.

"Other than you being a shapeshifter??" Rodney demanded.

Cat smiled.

"I am not a shapeshifter, Rodney. I am Cat. I never concealed what I was. It is in my name."

"Yes, well, if you want to argue semantics, I would suggest doing that with Daniel. And what about this ZedPM? Can I see it? What's with this house and how did you get it?"

This time Gibbs and Jack spoke simultaneously.

"First we gotta know what they're after."

"Research later, McKay. We got other stuff to deal with right now!"

"Fine, fine," Rodney huffed. "Figure out the bad guys first." He pointed a finger at Cat. "But don't think I'm just going to let this go!"

And of course he didn't. That very same night, when John and the others were asleep, Rodney snuck down to the kitchen and approached the door that led to Cat's wing of the house. But no matter what he tried, his tablet, his crystals, even brute force, Rodney couldn't get in.


	5. Chapter 5

Rodney carefully avoided looking at the scowl Jack threw at him as the General began to realize exactly how many pieces of Ancient tech Rodney had been smuggling to and from Atlantis. Rodney didn't care about Jack's ire, they'd just found at that Tony had the gene, and Rodney was determined to find out how strong it was. As soon as Tony had activated the database device and they had all recovered from the shock, McKay had ran to the guest room he and John were sharing in Jack and Daniel's apartment, and returned with armfuls of tech for Tony to try to initialize.

The database device had been easy, even Rodney with his artificial gene could work it if he concentrated. But he had many more things, stuff Jack or even John couldn't get to work, and he was going to find out where exactly Tony came on Rodney's scale that ranged from himself on the lowest end to John at the top end when it came to the gene. Before Rodney could shove another device into Tony's hand, John stopped him.

"Give me a minute to get dressed, okay?"

Annoyed at the delay, but understanding the reasoning behind it, Rodney acquiesced. As John turned back to the guest room to get dressed, an incredibly tense Gibbs - who was obviously not liking any of this, at all - raised an eyebrow in Rodney's direction. It was Daniel who explained.

"John has the strongest expression of the gene we've yet encountered. Jack is second. If Tony activates something and isn't able to stop, one or both of them together should be able to shut it off. It's just a precaution."

Gibbs sighed. Despite Daniel's reassurance, he still wasn't liking this. But Tony threw him his puppy dog eyes, looking so damn hopeful at being special, that Gibbs bit back the refusal that was itching to cross his lips. 

For the next hour or so, Rodney handed Tony stuff, and Tony thought 'on' and 'off' at it. Every single item lit up, and Rodney and Tony were getting more excited with each one. All of these devices had already been checked out by John or Jack, so they hadn't been worried about them, but when they came to the last few items left on Rodney's table, Gibbs could feel John, Jack and Daniel getting tense. Rodney and Tony were completely oblivious in their excitement. Before Rodney could hand over the next thing, Gibbs butted in.

"Jack?"

Jack looked uneasy. John looked thoughtful, and put his hand on Rodney's arm to hold his lover back. Jack rubbed his hand over the back of his neck.

"We're getting to the stuff even John has trouble activating by himself. That one -" he pointed to what Rodney was holding, "- took both of us to get it to work. It's harmless, but it requires a lot of juice."

"But it's harmless, right?" Tony asked. "So I can at least try, can't I?"

Tony turned to Gibbs and used the puppy eyes again, accompanied by a small pout.

"Please?"

Jack and John nodded. Gibbs sighed yet again.

"Okay. Just… be careful."

Tony smiled and turned back, making grabby hands at the device Rodney was eagerly holding out to him. When Tony touched it, the thing burbled. There were some flickers of light, a few beeps, but nothing really happened. John and Jack glanced at each other, and John nodded. Jack stepped closer and reached out to touch the device too, as John stood at the ready to intervene if needed. As soon as Jack added his touch and concentration, the thing came to life.

"Okay, Tony," Rodney said, "think of something you want. Like… like a beer, or… chocolate."

Tony closed his eyes and concentrated. A second later, a steaming cup of black coffee sat on the table next to him. There were grins all around as Tony almost squealed with glee. Immediately forgetting about the alien device, Tony picked up the coffee cup and held it out to Gibbs.

"For you, Boss. Thanks for letting me play."

Gibbs sighed, accepted the cup and smelled it, then let his smile show. Taking a sip, Gibbs reached up his free hand and cupped Tony's neck, drawing the younger man in for a quick kiss.

~~~~~

"You say you hadn't noticed anyone lurking around here before we came. How long has the house been empty?"

Cat winced. "Too long," she said quietly. "A few years."

The men looked thoughtful. 

"So," John said. "When you say they aren't after you, that's probably right. Otherwise they probably would have shown up before we came here. That means they're after one of us. Rodney and I have been on Atlantis until a couple of months ago, and when we were on Earth, we were either under the Mountain or at Jack's place or Gibbs' house. And we were beamed there. There would not have been much chance for anyone to track us or even find out about us." 

Rodney nodded his agreement. 

"Danny?" Jack asked.

"I don't know, Jack. I haven't been in Washington that long all things considered, I still feel a bit displaced. You know how many black SUVs are in this town? Besides, you know what I'm like. When my driver starts driving, I just get lost in one of my books." Daniel smiled a rueful smile, but they all knew it was true. They had all experienced a Daniel Jackson completely engrossed in one of his texts. It was near impossible to snap him out of it.

Gibbs let his mind wander, then spoke up.

"Something I didn't like," he said. "A few weeks ago."

He looked at Tony.

"Remember that pen-thing of McKay's that you accidentally took that one day?"

Tony nodded, and they all remembered. Tony had apologized to Rodney that evening, explaining that he'd really thought it was just a pen and didn't know it was McKay's, and he had returned it to the scientist immediately.

"We had a briefing that day with a couple of agencies, a joint strike force. DiNozzo had the pen-thing, it switched on. Only for a second or two. But I noticed some looks I didn't like."

They all contemplated that for a few moments, then Jack took charge.

"Okay. So it might be they're after Tony, but we can't be sure. Just in case, no one, I repeat no one -" and he looked directly at Daniel, "- is going anywhere on their own or unarmed. Cat, what about the house?"

She smiled.

"The house and I shall be fine. As you have seen, nothing can penetrate the grounds without my approval."

She hesitated for a moment.

"I should feel better if you all remained here."

Jack, Gibbs and John sighed. It was John who replied.

"We understand that, but hiding isn't going to solve any of this. We need to know what's going on, why and who, and then take care of it. Or we're never going to be free of it."

Cat nodded.

"My mind realizes that, but my being rebels. I cannot protect you out there." She smiled impishly. "You would get strange looks with a large white cat at your side."

It broke the tension and they all laughed, though still a little subdued. Things had been so good for these past few weeks. Why did this threat have to happen?

~~~~~

"Hey Rodney?"

"I am very busy here, Colonel!"

John eyed Teyla and Ronon guarding the entrance to the hive's engine room, and, feeling secure for the moment, put down his P90 and wrapped his arms around Rodney from behind. He could feel the physicist shaking. John pressed a soft kiss to Rodney's exposed neck.

"You know I love you, right?"

McKay froze for a moment, then relaxed. The shaking subsided. 

"Yes, John."

Sheppard squeezed Rodney a little tighter for just a moment, then let go and turned back, raising his P90 to the doorway of the engine room again.

"Good. Then get us the hell out of here so I can prove it again."

John didn't need to see Rodney's face to know that a small smile graced the crooked mouth he'd loved for so long. Rodney's voice was a combination of confidence and arrogance when he replied.

"Yes, of course, Colonel." Rodney said, as he resumed working his magic on the hive's engines, blowing up the ship and securing them safe transport at the same time.

~~~~~

When they finally went to bed after all the revelations of the day - Cat being a tiger, the house being shielded, bad guys being after them - Tony pressed close to Gibbs, and the older man could feel him shivering in his arms.

"Hey," Gibbs asked softly, "what's wrong?"

Tony's voice was small.

"Am I in trouble, Boss?"

Before he could stop it, a small snort escaped Gibbs' lips.

"When are you ever NOT in trouble, DiNozzo?"

Gibbs knew it was a mistake even before he said it, and that was confirmed when he felt Tony stiffen in his embrace. Tony sighed, then patted a hand on Gibbs' chest and extracted himself from Gibbs' arms.

"You know what? I can't sleep right now. I'm gonna go watch TV."

At Gibbs' rueful look, Tony said: "Don't worry. I'll go downstairs. I won't bother you."

"Tony," Gibbs pleaded. But Tony, now already standing next to the bed, leaned over and pressed a kiss to Gibbs' temple.

"Sleep. I'm fine."

As Tony left their bedroom, Gibbs pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes. Damn it! He'd really messed up now! For a functional mute, he sure knew how to say the wrong thing at the wrong time. 

~~~~~

Colonel O'Neill woke to the far too familiar sounds and smells of the infirmary, and the very unfamiliar feeling of fingers interlaced with his. As he blinked his eyes open, his brown eyes fell to the features of his archeologist, his geek, his everything. Daniel was sitting in one of the very uncomfortable chairs of the infirmary, Daniel's head resting on the side of Jack's bed, glasses askew. Daniel's fingers were tangled with his own as the younger man slept.

Jack sighed.

He reached his free hand over, running his fingers softly through Daniel's hair. Jack fell asleep again, to the comforting feeling of petting Daniel.

~~~~~

Cat raised her head and frowned. 

Something was not right. She had expected her charges to fall asleep and dream, but it seemed they were restless. She heard footsteps on the stairs. Tony, she recognized. But while she was contemplating whether to give up her nightly patrol in favor of keeping the young man company, Cat heard more footsteps. Sheppard. Ah. She listened a moment longer, then nodded to herself. They would be fine. Cat became a cat, and loped out into the woods.

"Hey Tony. What're you watching?"

Tony raised the remote to the big TV again, and skipped another few channels.

"Nothing," he replied.

John eyed him for a second, then walked to the kitchen to get them both a beer. He opened the bottles and trotted back, handing Tony one and settling down next to him on the couch.

"Can't sleep either, huh?"

Tony just grunted.

"So," John continued, "she's a cat. Big surprise for me. Rodney's trying to break into her apartments to get a look at this ZPM she says she's got."

Tony swigged a big gulp of beer and skipped through another few channels.

"Right," John sighed. Beer on the pier usually worked with Rodney, but beer on the couch obviously didn't work with Tony. And John was not one for talking about 'feelings', even though he could feel them radiating from Tony left, right and center. John stayed quiet a little longer, his eyes on the TV. Silence usually worked with Rodney, and it worked with Tony now too.

"John?"

Sheppard took another sip of his beer.

"Have you… have you ever…"

John waited some more.

"Have you ever been in love with your CO?"

It took all of John's composure not to snort and spit out his beer. Once he'd collected himself, he shook his head, leaving it to Tony to continue.

"I mean, I know Gibbs isn't like… well, we're not in the military, so… but it feels like he's my CO, and you know, sometimes..."

"I killed mine."

Tony nodded, then froze, then turned his gaze to John. Sheppard couldn't look back at Tony. If he was going to say this, he was going to say it to thin air.

"Remember what I told you about the Wraith? Life-sucking vampires? They got him. He was so far gone when I got to him, almost nothing left. I didn't like him, he didn't like me, but then… in that moment… he looked at me… and… and I… took the shot."

John took another sip of his beer. He hadn't ever talked about this, not even to Rodney.

"Mercy, they called it after my report. It was. Still sucked, though. Big time. And then we were back, and everything and everyone was just going on like business as usual, and I suddenly found myself in charge and didn't have a clue what I was doing. I was only a Major back then, and had no one to talk to about that. I floundered. There were plenty of distractions to keep anyone from noticing, but I… I failed. I couldn't talk, wouldn't talk… and no one knew. I grew, eventually. Got to know what to do, and when to do it. I was feeling all right. And then, there was Rodney. Of course, he'd always been there, but… then there was Rodney LIKE THAT. I felt like those first days. Lost. Alone. Completely out of my depth. Something and someone I never thought would happen. And I had to… I found myself having to talk. I wasn't good at it, I'm still not. But you know Rodney, he's different that way. He… Anyway, I had spent so much time of my life not talking about stuff, that it was difficult. I'd say the wrong thing, even though I meant well. Luckily for me, Rodney's the kind of guy who goes on data points, not words. Imagine spending your whole life not being able to talk about stuff, and then finding this guy who you really love, and him needing your words? When you've spent years not saying them? That's gotta suck too. I'm not making any excuses, and I'm definitely not saying… but… think about it."

John chugged the remainder of his beer and set off to the kitchen to put the empty bottle away. When he returned past Tony to head back upstairs, John put his hand on Tony's shoulder and squeezed lightly.

"I'm really not saying… but… you know… for some of us… words…"

Tony nodded to the TV screen, keeping his face and the tears that threatened to fall hidden from his friend. He cleared his throat.

"Good night, John."

"Sleep well, Tony."


	6. Chapter 6

The white tiger prowled the grounds, checking the perimeter and feeling the force of the shield as she ran alongside it. She was uneasy. Even though she was absolutely confident that the men in her charge were protected and safe as long as they stayed in the house, she couldn't prevent them from venturing out. They all had their jobs to do, Jack and Daniel, John and Rodney with the SGC and Tony and Gibbs at NCIS, and there was no way she could get them to take a break. Her mind told her that they were right, that they couldn't hide in the house hoping this would all go away, but she didn't like that she couldn't be with them during the day to protect them. This had to be resolved one way or the other, and she had to agree to let them go about their business.

She didn't like it though.

Even though it had been silent on the threat front for the past few weeks, the tiger's senses told her it wasn't over. The original attackers had been so freaked by her and by the protection of the shield, that they had fled after their unsuccessful attempt, but the tiger knew that wasn't the end of it. She could feel it in her bones. Her men were not yet safe, even if they seemed to be relaxing a bit after the weeks of quiet. She sniffed a deep breath, taking in every scent she could catch. She was satisfied. No attack would come tonight.

~~~~~

Gibbs stood in the doorway to Tony's bedroom and watched his lover sleep. They didn't sleep together every night, keeping separate bedrooms in their apartment in the house, and whenever one of them needed a little space, they'd retreat to their own domains, still feeling comforted though knowing the other was close at hand. But tonight, Gibbs had hoped Tony would come to his bed.

Gibbs had messed up this evening, and Tony had left his bed and went to watch TV in the main living room for a while. Gibbs had lain awake, cursing himself, and then decided to go find Tony and try to make it up to his lover. But Sheppard had gotten there first. Gibbs stood on the landing, hiding behind a wall, and listened to Sheppard and Tony talk. Even though he felt guilty for listening to Sheppard's confession when it was obviously not meant to be heard by anyone but Tony, he'd been grateful to John for saying what he said to Tony, and Gibbs felt he had a better understanding of the man and his issues than he had over the last few years of knowing him. When Sheppard finished his beer and got up, Gibbs quietly snuck back to his bedroom before being discovered. 

He had still been awake when he'd heard Tony return to their apartment, and had hoped to see Tony appearing at his door in the darkness, but instead, had heard Tony move to his own bedroom and settle into bed. Gibbs rolled onto his back and used his arms to lock himself into the duvet that covered him up to his chest. He smirked at himself. A duvet. Blankets had always been good enough for him, the rough wool covered by equally rough, many times washed cotton of a sheet. But Tony liked his comfort, and so the blankets had been replaced by a warm, huge duvet as soon as Tony started spending the night sometimes. 

Even before they had slept together for the first time, Gibbs had made concessions. His fridge had become stocked with Tony's favorite brand of beer, Gibbs had changed his preferred pizza joint to the one Tony liked better, his bathroom had held Tony's brand of toothpaste and actual shampoo and soap Tony liked instead of just the generic soap Gibbs had used most of his life. 

But then, Tony had done so much more. He'd never complained that they spent most of their time at Gibbs' place instead of at Tony's apartment. He'd never so much as hinted that it was inconvenient for him to live out of his overnight bag half the week. He'd never asked for a drawer, or left any of his things lying around. Every morning after spending the night, Tony had dutifully repacked all of his belongings into his bag and made sure that nothing remained behind. Tony had even refrained from grumbling when he had to wake earlier than usual so he had time to get back to his own place before work to pick up something or get fresh clothes. 

Gibbs' breath caught in his throat when he realized something else.

Tony had never said no. 

He had always waited for Gibbs to give a signal that he wanted his company that night, and had happily followed him home whenever he did. Gibbs knew that Tony had sometimes cancelled plans just to be with Gibbs when he wanted Tony to. When Gibbs didn't, Tony had accepted it, had never begged, nor shown up anyway.

Now, standing in the doorway, Gibbs wished he could change all that, the way he'd treated his lover. He sighed. The way he was treating him even now, living together in the same house, the same apartment, and still he'd made Tony need a space of his own, because Gibbs sometimes pushed him away. His heart clenched. He didn't want to, not anymore, not ever again.

After a short hesitation, Gibbs walked into Tony's bedroom and carefully slid under the duvet next to his lover.

When Tony even in sleep immediately sought out his warmth and snuggled up to him, Gibbs wrapped his arms around the younger man and sighed, cursing himself for being a stupid old fool, and gently caressed Tony's skin wherever he could reach for the rest of the night. 

~~~~~

Rodney was snoring lightly, lying on his stomach, when John returned to their room. Smiling to himself, Sheppard insinuated himself under the covers and carefully put an arm across Rodney's back. Not carefully enough, it seemed, because McKay snuffled and turned, blinking his eyes open at John, and asked through a yawn: "Everything okay?"

John scooted even closer, smiling when Rodney automatically wrapped an arm around him to pull him in, and rubbed his nose against Rodney's in an affectionate gesture. 

"Yeah," he sighed. After a moment, Rodney blinked at him again.

"John? What's wrong?"

Sheppard stared at his lover. For all that Rodney had a reputation of being completely oblivious to human emotions, Rodney sure knew about John's. Well, apart from realizing that the man had been in love with him for years, but then, neither had John, so he couldn't really blame Rodney for that.

John sighed.

"I never told you about what happened back then, with Colonel Sumner, did I?"

Rodney hesitated for a second. 

"I read the report. I know what happened. I figured, if you wanted to tell me, you would."

John swallowed.

"I guess I should."

When Sheppard didn't continue, Rodney easily pulled him closer, kissing John's throat as he tucked his face into his lover. They were silent for a few moments.

"You know I would always listen if you wanted to talk. You don't have to, but… What's brought this on?"

When John didn't reply for a long time, Rodney closed his eyes and settled back in, either to wait or fall asleep, even he didn't know which.

"Tony was downstairs. He and Gibbs had a… well… a… something was up."

Rodney, not really having expected John to actually start talking again, blinked the sleep out of his eyes and focused on his lover.

"Yeah?"

"I…" John swallowed harshly again. "I… told him, Tony I mean. I should have told you first, but…"

"John." Rodney sounded infinitely more awake now. "You don't have to tell me everything, just what you want to tell me and what is important for me to know, professionally or privately. I'm sure if you told Tony, you had a good reason for doing so. If you want to tell me, I'll listen. But if you don't, I'll accept that there is a reason for that. I'm a practical man, John, you know that. I don't - I couldn't - tell you everything that's going through my mind every day. There just isn't enough time. But I know that if it's important, I can and will, and you will be there."

With a pleased sigh, John eliminated the last few pockets of air between their bodies and let Rodney's warmth suffuse him.

"Thanks, Rodney. I'll… I'll tell you one day."

McKay kissed John's throat again, a smile playing over his crooked lips. It took some effort in his sleepy state, but he managed his usual imperious tone quite well, thank you.

"Fine. Go to sleep then, would you? I have a very important experiment to get back to in the morning, and I need to be my usual brilliant and well rested self when I review the results."

John smiled, and was still smiling when they both fell asleep again.

~~~~~

Jack and Daniel had no idea of the inner turmoil their friends were going through at that moment. 

Instead, Jack was on his back in their bed, his hands wrapped tightly around the slats in their headboard, while Daniel was perched above him, Daniel's knees straddling Jack's hips. Daniel smiled an evil little smile.

"Do you want it, Jack? Do you want me?"

Jack had to clear his throat before he could produce an answer.

"Always, Daniel."

Daniel's smile turned radiant then, and he reached out to grab the lube from the bedside table. But when he'd slicked up his fingers and stretched his arm behind to prepare himself, Jack let go of the slats and grabbed Daniel's wrist to stop him. Then Jack bucked his hips a little and, when given enough room by his lover, turned himself over onto his stomach. Looking back at Daniel over his shoulder, Jack raised a pleading eyebrow. With a pleased and excited grin, Daniel applied the lube to Jack instead, and when he slid in, they both let out a sigh of pleasure. 

~~~~~

"So, what's the plan, boss?"

The director rubbed one thumb across an eyebrow as he played for time. He hadn't wanted to get involved in this, not in any way, but he'd had no choice. They had too much on him. He sighed.

"I'll make a call."

~~~~~

The second time Tony and Gibbs kissed, it was anything but a disaster. 

It had been years since Tony's, quite frankly, disastrous attempt, and they had had several severe ups and downs since then in their working relationship. But that night, Tony was quietly sanding a piece of the boat in the basement, and Gibbs kept flicking his eyes over to his 2IC, taking in his mellow, relaxed state, a few beers in both of them. Gibbs put down his own sander, and stilled Tony's hand, turning him around at the same time so Tony's back was pressed against the ribs of the boat.

When Gibbs leaned in, Tony's eyes widened in surprise and dismay. Just before their lips met, Tony managed to get his hand on Gibbs' chest steady enough to push him away.

"Don't…"

Gibbs froze. 

"No?"

Tony shrugged and turned around, running his hands over the wood he'd just sanded, just to distract himself. His voice sounded strained when he finally spoke.

"Not if you don't mean it. Please, Boss."

For a second or two, Gibbs stood there, watching Tony fret. Then he wrapped his arms around the younger man from behind, and could feel Tony melting into him despite himself. Lowering his forehead against the back of Tony's shoulder, Gibbs huffed out a breath.

"You don't want me anymore?"

Tony stiffened, then turned around in Gibbs' hold. He brushed his fingers over Gibbs' cheek and gave a little huff himself.

"Like that's ever gonna happen…" Tony sighed, swallowed, then regained some equilibrium.

"But it's not about that. It's about… well… you wanting me back, I suppose. I can get kisses, Gibbs. I do. But I want them to mean something. And that's not you."

Before Tony could turn around again and pretend to ignore what was happening, Gibbs tightened his hold on the younger man.

"You saying I don't mean it when I kiss someone?"

Tony looked into Gibbs' eyes when he answered.

"No. I know you mean it. You never do anything without meaning it. But what you mean and what I mean aren't the same."

"You sure about that?"

Now Tony averted his eyes. 

"I've come to expect certain things, Boss. Most of them not good. You kissing me? With the way we've been doing lately? There's gotta be something behind that. And it doesn't bode well for me."

"Tony…" Gibbs raised his fingers to grasp Tony's chin and turn his face back to Gibbs. He struggled with himself to say more, to explain, to be open, but in the end, all he could do was put his feelings into action. He reached up again, and caught Tony's lips with his.

Tony couldn't help it, he lost himself. He moaned unashamedly into Gibbs' lips, Gibbs' touch. It lasted minutes, hours, days, there was no telling of the actual time frame. But when they finally released, Tony's eyes were sad.

"Thanks, Boss. I should… I should go. See you tomorrow."

And, still overwhelmed by what he had just felt and tasted and heard, Gibbs had no choice but to let Tony go.

~~~~~

"I want them!"

The voice on the other end of the line was loud and a little bit crazy. The director sighed. He'd known this was coming, but had little defense against it. 

"I know that, sir, but things aren't that simple. The men were spooked, and I have barely managed to contain them and the rumors. I realize this is important, but you have others, can't you just let them go? At least for now?"

He knew it was a mistake, but he had to try.

"Let them go? Let them go??!! Are you insane? I would have all of them in here to finally be able to have a proper study done!"

The director sighed quietly.

"Yes, sir. I'll do what I can."

~~~~~

The second time Jack and Daniel kissed (not counting harvest festivals), they both meant every second of it.

They had been on PX-whatever, there had been a rock slide on the path they were taking back to the Stargate, but luckily, Sam and Teal'c had escaped to a safe harbor the moment rocks started rumbling. Jack managed to grab hold of some bushes along the hillside, and Daniel managed to grab hold of Jack, and they had found a ledge that let them wait in relative comfort until Teal'c had lowered rope from his pack down to them to pull them back up again. They escaped with a few minor cuts and bruises, and even Janet Fraiser couldn't find too much wrong with them, so they were released from the Infirmary and the Mountain after giving their report to General Hammond. 

Jack wasn't even surprised when Daniel showed up at his house that evening. Daniel had brought Jack's favorite beers, and Jack had Daniel's favorite wine chilling in the fridge.

After a hockey game on TV neither paid much attention to and half an episode of the Simpson's, Daniel put down his wine glass and curled himself up against Jack on the couch.

"I thought I'd lost you for a second there," Jack whispered into Daniel's soft hair, as he pulled the younger man closer.

"I can't do this anymore," Daniel answered.

They lay against each other for another hour or so, letting the TV play whatever it was showing.

"Come to bed?" Jack asked.

Daniel's head came up.

"Kiss me?" he asked.

"Any time," Jack responded, and did just that.

When Daniel finally pulled back, he smiled at Jack.

"You know this doesn't mean I'm just going to sleep with you."

Jack stretched exaggeratedly.

"Well, I am pretty tired, Danny. You can have the guest room, if you're so bent on keeping your honor."

Daniel deigned to give Jack a smile.

"You know I didn't mean it like that."

Jack grinned back, and grabbed Daniel's hand.

"Then come to bed with me?"

~~~~~

The white tiger growled in frustration. It wanted something to hunt. But things had been quiet for weeks, and she knew the enemy was laying low for now. That made them even more dangerous in her mind. An enemy who had time, and who didn't care about waiting, not just a swift attack, but a long, planned out strike, that was even more worrisome. She continued to prowl the perimeter, casting her eyes back to the house every now and then, where she knew her charges were safe.

~~~~~

The second time John and Rodney kissed (again, not including harvest festivals), it was anything but thoughtless.

In fact, John's thoughts had often turned to this possibility, but he always tried to dismiss it as something he couldn't have. When Rodney showed up at John's quarters, a chess board in one hand and beers in the other, a sheepish smile on his face, John wordlessly let him in. It had been four days since the rumor mill on Atlantis announced that Rodney and Jennifer had broken up, and John had been waiting for his friend to come to him ever since then. Atlantis had even tried to show John exactly what had happened, but John had cut her off, not wanting to know the details unless Rodney wanted to share.

"So…" Rodney said, "yeah."

"I heard," John replied.

They stared at each other for an uncomfortable moment.

"Wanna take this to the pier?" John asked, raising the beer.

Rodney gave a watery smile.

"Sure."

And so they sat for a long time, right out there on their spot on the East pier, watching the by now familiar stars of Pegasus overhead, not talking, simply sipping beer and being with each other. But of course, Rodney had to break the silence.

"So, I thought I had it cracked this time. Smart, beautiful woman, for some reason interested in me, willing to put up with me. I figured, marriage, kids, maybe one day a continuation of my brilliant genes in the form of offspring."

John couldn't help but smile ruefully.

"You deserve it, buddy, you know, to get the girl."

"I know I do! I mean, what an opportunity for anyone to be with the most brilliant man in two galaxies! But…"

When Rodney fell silent, John shifted uneasily.

"But what?"

"Well… what if…"

Rodney cleared his throat, then seemingly went off on another tangent.

"It would seem that my brilliance is in fact a hindrance. Or maybe my personality is, I don't know. It seems no one wants to spend much time with me, let alone stay with me for prolonged periods of time. They're always trying to get me to be 'polite'! What's the good in that? I mean, I get more from my minions when they're scared of me than I do if I provide them with coffee or, even worse, compliments! I don't…"

"I like to spend time with you," John interrupted.

A renewed silence fell between them before McKay finally responded.

"Yes, apparently you do."

Cursing himself the whole time he moved, telling himself he was being stupid and ruining the best - if most unlikely - friendship he'd had forever, John reached out and grabbed Rodney. Pressing his lips against his friend's, John was tender, persuasive, caring and hesitant all at once. In the few seconds before he released his friend from his hold, Sheppard braced himself to see anger, disgust, mistrust and fear in Rodney's eyes.

Instead, when he finally pulled back, he saw a sparkle.

"So," Rodney rasped, his voice incredibly hoarse and sexy to John, "they were right then?"

John found that in the course of their kiss, he had rolled Rodney onto his back and straddled him possessively, his knees locked around Rodney's hips, his arms framing Rodney's shoulders, his hands grasped in Rodney's hair. He smiled a little uncertainly.

"I don't even wanna know right now who 'they' are. You don't need to change, Rodney, please don't change. Can I… can I kiss you again?"

With his usual aplomb, Rodney didn't answer, just grinned and pulled his best friend down for more mind-blowing kisses.

~~~~~

Cat didn't leave the compound often - she didn't need to. Most things she wanted or needed could be manufactured right there, and she had kept herself safe that way for many years. But sometimes, she liked to go out, interact with the real world, so she could relate more easily to her charges. And it had been many weeks since any of them had sensed any kind of threat.

So, of course, that was when the attack came.

She was just returning from a trip to an actual grocery store when, just outside the gate, a car pulled up and gunfire exploded into the air. Without even a hesitation, Cat threw herself through the gate and slammed it shut behind her with a single thought. A second later, the white tiger was glaring its green eyes at the three men who had attacked her. They didn't seem very disturbed by this. So, they had been briefed, and informed far more than the previous attackers. This was something to consider. But that would have to wait. She continued to glare at the three men as they attempted to break in, derisively rolling her tongue in laughter as they failed. When they finally left with vicious curses, the tiger watched until they had disappeared from sight. Then she carefully stumbled back to the house, and a phone.

"Tony?"

"Cat?"

Tony was shocked at hearing her voice, even though he knew it was her from his caller ID. Cat never called.

"There was another attack on the house, Tony. Please, I want you all back here where you're protected. Call the others. Stay together. Be careful."

Cat hung up before he could offer any reply, but Gibbs' eyes were on him from the second Tony had said Cat's name. Gibbs was already grabbing his badge and gun, his coat and bag, and was standing by Tony's side the moment the younger man shut off his phone. 

"DiNozzo?"

"Trouble at home, Boss."

Gibbs cursed silently under his breath.

"Call the others. Tell me on the way."

And just like that, Gibbs and Tony left Ziva and McGee to their cold cases, a suspicious frown on their faces, and Tony tried frantically calling the others while grabbing his things and running after Gibbs to the elevator.

~~~~~

Daniel was desperate to keep his eyes open and take in every detail of the man above him, every second of what was happening. Jack had been teasing him for what felt like hours now, Jack's lips caressing every inch of Daniel's skin, Jack's fingers rubbing, thrusting, slick with lube and desperate in their own way, probing at Daniel's ass for what seemed like forever.

"Please, Jack, please…"

Daniel whimpered as Jack pulled back, released his fingers from Daniel, and rolled them both over so Daniel was on top.

"Ride me, Danny. You'll be in charge. I don't wanna hurt you," Jack whispered between kisses.

Daniel couldn't help a small huff escaping his lips. They'd been together for weeks now, and had shared the most amazing pleasure, but Jack had hesitated to take this final step even though Daniel had indicated he'd been ready for it for a while. And even then, now that they were finally at the point where they would go all the way, when Daniel would finally feel his lover inside of him, Jack managed to turn it around. Daniel wanted to be taken, not to take. He wanted to give his body, not just to share. He wanted to be loved.

But then, Daniel looked at Jack and saw the fear in the older man's eyes. Fear that he wouldn't be able to do as Daniel wanted, wouldn't be able to please Daniel as he desired. Fear that Daniel wouldn't like what Jack did.

"Oh, Jack…" Daniel whispered, before leaning over and kissing his lover. Without a second thought, Daniel pressed himself down onto Jack, taking him in, moaning at the pleasure of feeling Jack inside of him at last.

Jack's eyes were wide and incredulous as Daniel sank down onto him, the heat of Daniel's body encasing him, caressing him. 

"Never doubt, Jack," Daniel sighed. "I want you. I want this. Please."

And with that, Daniel raised his hips and slowly sank down again, moaning in wanton delight as he felt Jack press into him, Jack's fingers involuntarily grasping Daniel's hips hard enough to bruise, wanting to keep his lover there forever.

~~~~~

Warned by Tony, they carefully scoped out the house and grounds in teams, checking for any sign of danger. Not finding any, they finally made their way into the compound. The smell of blood - something they all were unfortunately too familiar with - hit them the second they entered the house. Calling out for Cat but receiving no reply, they fanned out, checking the house, until Rodney called out to them.

"Look… she's in her wing of the house. That's what I'd do! That's what cats would do! Retreat to safety, to your own space. She's in there, I know she is!"

Nodding at the probability of Rodney's assertion, they all gathered at the door that led to Cat's part of the house.

"So how are we gonna get in?" John asked. "You tried, but…"

McKay looked slightly guilty.

"You knew?"

"Rodney, the day you can out-stealth me is the day I retire for good. Now please, any ideas?"

While Rodney looked around for a tablet or crystals or anything that would help him break into Cat's quarters, Gibbs sighed and reached out his hand for the doorknob. 

"Can't hurt to try," he said, and they all stood there shocked for a second when the knob actually turned and the door opened.

"But… but… I tried that!" Rodney huffed. Jack winced.

"She must be really hurt then, to let us in."

That thought sobered them all, and they quickly made their way through the right wing of the house. Not even Rodney spared a thought to looking for this mysterious ZedPM Cat had said she had in order to protect the house, they were all too focused on finding her. 

They found her in her bedroom, the safest place she knew, as Rodney had predicted. There was blood trailing across the floor to the bathroom, blood trailing everywhere, in fact. Cat lay on the bed, sheets pulled back, towels laid under her body. There was so much blood that they were sure it was hopeless. Then she opened her eyes.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, as she finally focused on them.

This time it was O'Neill who took the practical approach.

"The house let us in. You need help."

She dismissively waved a hand which, knowing what they knew, reminded them all of a cat's paw batting at them to leave her alone. 

"I'll be fine." Her eyes sharpened. "You're all safe?"

~~~~~

Rodney sometimes wished he'd have paid more attention. 

Then again, between Cat outside and John inside, McKay barely knew where to look, who to focus his attention on. John was always a distraction, his slouchy figure, his unruly hair, his careless drawl, Rodney could hardly ever take his eyes away from the man. On the other hand, Cat was likely to turn into a cat sometime soon. And Rodney liked cats.

So still, to this day, Rodney maintained that he wasn't to blame. He couldn't have noticed that John was fiddling with some Ancient tech Rodney had lying around his lab - and Rodney had told the man countless times that such things were not to play with! - and he couldn't have predicted that when Cat turned into the white tiger outside, John would say: "That continues to be awesome! I wish…" and then Rodney would be faced with a black panther staring with a smirk at the Ancient tech now nestled between its black paws, then looking up at Rodney as if to say: "Rodney! This is so… cool!"

~~~~~

Cat closed her eyes and seemed to survey them all. 

"You're fine," she said, then focused outside of herself again. "The house is fine too. All is secure. Rodney, you can access the video…"

Her voice melted away into a soft groan she obviously hadn't meant for them to hear.

"We should take her to the hospital," Tony said.

Before Cat could even begin to object, Jack shook his head, more experienced in things like this. 

"No hospital. Can you imagine what they'd find in her blood?"

"Carolyn?" Daniel asked. Dr. Lam would have been a good bet, but Jack instantly thought it would take too long to get her here from Colorado, even with a beam from one of their ships, and besides, the SGC didn't know about Cat, and Jack kind of wanted to keep it that way. He shook his head.

"I'll call Ducky," Gibbs said.

Jack stared hard at him for a moment. Even though Jack - and the others - had met Dr. Mallard at their housewarming party, they didn't know the good doctor. Gibbs smirked.

"I trust him with my life. And with Tony's."

Even if the first statement hadn't been adequate, the second was more than enough to persuade them all that Gibbs was serious. Jack nodded.

"Make the call."

~~~~~

"Gibbs?" Tony asked, just barely escaping the clutches of sleep later that morning.

"Yeah, Tony. I'm here."

Tony nestled contentedly back into Gibbs' solid form for a moment, before he woke up enough to remember the previous night. Tony swallowed, but before he could say anything, Gibbs spoke.

"I've been a real bastard to you, Tony. Even just last night. I thought… I thought I was getting better, but… clearly I'm not. I'm not very good with words…" - they both chuckled a little bit at that, even if Tony was still holding his breath at what was happening - "but I… I know what I feel, Tony. I just, I can't always say it. Doesn't mean I don't… I… Tony…"

Tony took pity on him then, squeezing his arms a little tighter around his lover. 

"I know that," Tony said with complete and maybe hurtful honestly. "It's just that sometimes it hurts."

Gibbs nodded, then took a deep breath and continued.

"I was very disappointed you didn't come back to our bed last night. I lay awake waiting for you."

Before Tony could voice the apology that was clearly on his lips, Gibbs shook his head and went on.

"Not like that. I… I've realized some things. I haven't been fair to you, haven't been treating you right."

Now Gibbs retreated from Tony's hold, settling down on his aching knees at Tony's bedside, gently grasping Tony's hand in his.

"Tony… Can I please move into your room with you?"

~~~~~

"Alright, Jethro. I'm here. Now, what do you need me for, dear boy?" Ducky asked, as Gibbs opened the front door of the house to his old friend.


	7. Chapter 7

The director rubbed his thumb over an eyebrow even as he glared at the four men in the car with him.

"What did you do that for?", he asked. "The plan was to get the men, not the woman."

"With all due respect, director," the goon leader replied, his tone clearly indicating that he didn't think any respect was due, "we don't just accept tasks from you. We have standing orders to eliminate the woman if at all possible."

The director sighed. He'd known that, really he had, but to have it confirmed irked him. Why had they even involved him in this? These men weren't his, they had come 'recommended', and now they had made it clear they weren't even following his orders, or at least, not just his orders. It seemed that whoever wanted the six men in the house, had enough pull to arrange for their capture themselves, so again the question was, why had they tapped him? He had the dark suspicion that it was solely to get him more firmly under their control, and that there would be even more unseemly tasks in his future that he wouldn't have a choice but to accept. He sighed.

"And did you? Eliminate her?"

Another goon answered.

"It was a good shot. But we know nothing about her. She walked off afterwards, but it might be she bled out."

"So we have no idea," the director summarized. 

The four men managed to look a bit sheepish, which just looked silly on their goon faces, and the director sighed again.

"And why did you leave, instead of waiting for the men to come back?"

The goon leader cleared his throat.

"We were told to. It is unknown whether she might be able to retaliate."

~~~~~

It was Tony who had carefully picked up the wounded Cat from her bed, and carried her to the big family room in the main part of the house, where they had made her as comfortable as they could in a nest of blankets on one of the couches. None of the men had felt right being in her part of the house, and when Gibbs announced after his call that Ducky was on his way, they knew that Cat would prefer not to have the doctor in her private domain. As they waited for Ducky, Cat told them in few words what had happened, and Rodney pulled up the security feed, which they all studied several times while Cat dozed a little. The bleeding had slowed to a trickle, but she was obviously in pain. There were relieved sighs from all of them when Ducky announced himself at the gate.

Gibbs hadn't given Ducky any details, just that they needed him and his medical expertise, and that he needed to be careful, that he may be being watched. So Ducky had taken his precautions, and Jack, Gibbs and John had made rounds of the grounds while Rodney used the available electronics to survey the surrounding area, even though Cat had assured them that the attackers had gone. Tony sat on the floor by her side, and tried to keep her comfortable. When Ducky arrived safely, he was let into the house and started asking Gibbs questions, which immediately halted on his lips when he was brought into the room where Cat lay. He smelled and saw the blood instantly, and his entire demeanor went from jovial and somewhat eccentric ME to focused, sharp doctor. 

In a matter of minutes Ducky had the woman laid out on one of the higher tables in the room, her wound exposed, his instruments at the ready, his gloved hands doing a quick examination. He frowned at the severity of the wound, and glanced up at Gibbs.

"This should be treated in a hospital, Jethro."

But Gibbs shook his head.

"No can do, Duck."

Annoyed, but fully aware that Gibbs would have his reasons, Ducky set to work. 

While Tony and Gibbs stayed right next to Ducky and Cat, the other four retreated to a corner of the room for a quiet discussion.

"We need to call this in," Daniel said.

"To whom?", Jack asked. "I'm The Man at Homeworld, usually people call me with this kind of thing. Who am I supposed to call?"

They all hesitated, but knew it was true. Jack had been heading up Homeworld Security for a few years now, and was the one everyone else went to with problems like this. There really wasn't much of a higher authority when it involved aliens. Jack supposed he could call the president, but what could the president do that Jack couldn't? Not much.

John brought up something else.

"We should call our teams, though. The first attack happened right after they were all here for the housewarming party. We have no idea whether these people are just after us, or whether our teams have been targeted too. I'm thinking this is more of an SGC thing than an NCIS or a family thing, seeing as how those guys shooting this time didn't even look surprised when Cat turned into a tiger right in front of them. So I think Jeannie and Dave and the rest of our families are safe. NCIS probably too."

The others nodded in agreement, but Daniel scrunched up his eyebrows in thought. He turned to Jack.

"We should still warn them, though. Tell them something's happened here and that they need to be careful. Maybe tell Agent Barrett, get him and his guys to keep an eye out for the families?"

Jack agreed. 

"Right. John, Rodney, you call your people. Danny, call Sam and tell her what's going on, but to keep it within the family for now. I'll have a word with Jethro, then call Barrett."

As O'Neill made his way over to the improvised operating table and Daniel turned away to call Sam, Sheppard gently squeezed McKay's shoulder.

"You okay, Rodney?"

Rodney gave his lover a wavering little smile.

"Yes? No? I… Have I… I don't know, grown complacent? Thinking that now we're back on Earth instead of in Pegasus, we're safe? That Earth is safe and we can handle anything? Have I put us all in danger by not exploring the strange things going on here more diligently? I mean, there's a ZedPM in this house, our housekeeper is a cat, and I did nothing much to solve that mystery, I just accepted it as something - as you would say - cool!"

John sighed and pulled Rodney into a hug.

"It's not your fault, Rodney. It isn't. None of us paid much attention to it."

But he could feel Rodney shiver in his hold, and knew that, even though most people wouldn't think it upon being exposed to his lover in short bursts, Rodney always took the blame for things that went wrong even if it had nothing to do with him. Rodney felt responsible for anything that he might have prevented, if only he'd been a little more alert, if only he'd spent a few more minutes on some analysis or other, if only, if only. Most everyone on Atlantis, the ones that had been there long enough to suffer through at least some of the stuff they'd all been through, knew that about Rodney. They may not like him, but they all sure as hell respected him and knew that most of them owed their lives to him in some way or another. 

"Hey," John nuzzled into Rodney's neck, "want me to ask Teyla and Ronon to come here?"

Rodney tightened his hold on John for a second, then let out a deep breath.

"Do you think they'd come?"

John pulled back and laughed softly.

"Of course they will. If they know it would make you feel better to have them close, they'd probably find a way to walk or even crawl all the way from Pegasus to here. Hell, I'd feel better with them at my back too. And they're only in San Francisco now, you know. They could be here by tomorrow."

Rodney closed his eyes and rested his forehead against John's for a moment.

"John… Thank you."

"Always," John replied earnestly, then squeezed Rodney's ass playfully. "Now, go call Jeannie."

Rodney's indignant scowl was a little halfhearted, and John laughed again as he let his lover go to go make his own phone calls.

Jack swallowed harshly at the sight of all the blood as he approached the makeshift operating table again. Tony was sitting in a chair, holding Cat's right hand as Dr. Mallard worked on her left shoulder. The doctor was speaking almost merrily to her, and she responded softly with small smiles under the local anesthetic she had been given. Gibbs stood to Tony's side, keeping a wary eye on all of them. 

"Jethro?" Jack asked, and shifted his head a little to the side to indicate a moment. Gibbs stepped away from the table, keeping one eye on it anyway, and spoke to Jack. Jack explained what he and the others had decided, and Gibbs agreed. 

"I'll call McGee when Ducky's done," he said. "My people can take care of themselves, but a little warning won't hurt. I think we should take some time off, too. I'll talk to Vance."

Jack nodded. "Us too," he agreed.

"Jack," Gibbs sighed, lowering his voice even though he was certain that Ducky would be able to hear him anyway. "You know we're gonna have to tell Ducky something about her."

O'Neill turned his gaze back to the table and the good doctor, and nodded again. 

"It's up to Cat. We can tell him what happened, but the rest…"

"I know. Go, make those calls. I'll do the same." 

And then Gibbs returned to Tony's side, getting a grateful smile from the younger man as Gibbs squeezed his neck softly, and smiling at Cat who was talking softly to Ducky.

~~~~~

On P32-7X1, John and Rodney got married for the first time. 

It wasn't until the blue thread was tied around John's left wrist, securing it firmly to Rodney's right, that Sheppard became very suspicious of exactly what kind of ceremony they were participating in, and the soft snickering he heard from Ronon and Teyla behind them made him glance back to his other two teammates. The cheerful glee in both their eyes made John even more suspicious, and he made a mental note to have stern words with them about respect and honor and not tricking your team leader and military commander into some kind of weird ritual that would make it forever uncomfortable for him to return to this lovely planet.

Glancing back over at Rodney, John made another mental note.

Namely, that if you're freaking getting married, you don't spend the entire wedding trying to sneak peaks at your tablet which is running a search for ZPM energy!

John huffed. Was he the only one taking this seriously?

~~~~~

It was almost three hours later, and the men sat around the living room with drinks of their choice in hand. Ducky was settled into a nice armchair, Jack in the other one to his side, with Daniel on the floor at his feet, Daniel's head resting softly against Jack's thigh as Jack played his fingers over the rim of Daniel's ear. John had opted to lie down on his back on one of the couches, his head resting in Rodney's lap as McKay softly ran his fingers through the unruly hair. And Tony and Gibbs were on one of the other couches, sitting close together, Tony's legs draped over Gibbs' knees as the older man played with Tony's toes with one hand as he held a beer with the other. Cat, dozing a little after the impromptu surgery and sleeping off the local anesthetic, had been put back on the third couch.

After Ducky had finished taking care of Cat and had cleaned up, he'd been gently herded to the chair he was currently occupying while the others took care of Cat and the rest of the clean up. He'd been given a drink, and as he slowly sipped at it and the others took their places, he had been filled in on what had happened for them to have called him out here. Despite his attention to Cat, Ducky had not been remiss in catching some of the other conversations going on around them. Everyone had made calls, Gibbs had spoken with McGee and the others with their teams and families that Ducky had met during the housewarming party, recognizing many of the names. He'd gathered much of the story from those calls, but had patiently sat through the full explanation that he had now been given. There were two things that were prevalent in Ducky's mind now though. He cleared his throat in a lull in the conversation, and threw a pointed glance at Gibbs and Tony.

"Jethro?" Ducky enquired with a raised eyebrow.

Gibbs sighed. Tony, blushing a very attractive shade of pink, immediately tried to withdraw from Gibbs when he caught Ducky's meaning, but Gibbs wouldn't let him go. 

"But…", Tony stammered after a few deep breaths, "I thought you knew! I mean, after the party, Abby…"

"My dear Anthony," Ducky replied, "while we were not exceedingly surprised at discovering the full extent of your inclinations, we all - Abigail, myself, young Timothy and Ziva - were quite certain that it was the striking Ronon fellow that had managed to capture your heart. Mr. Palmer did not wish to divulge his opinion on the matter, though."

Tony gaped, Gibbs smirked, and after a short silence, the others chuckled. Well, John's chuckle turned into a braying laugh that made Rodney grab the man's beer for fear of him spilling it all over himself. 

"Ronon? Ronon??" John choked. "Sorry, Doc! Ronon's heavily into Amelia! I mean, Tony's pretty and all" - Tony shot a glare John's way at that description - "but he's really not Ronon's type."

Tony huffed. "Hey! It could happen!"

Gibbs grabbed Tony's neck and pulled him in for a swift but soft kiss.

"No," Gibbs said, "it really couldn't. Not while I'm around, Tony. You're mine."

Everyone quieted at that, and looked to the two men.

"Yeah," Tony sighed, but it was clear that it was a sigh of deepest pleasure, "yours."

After long moments, Ducky smiled.

"Then I apologize for the misinterpretation of what had been seen that day. I am very pleased for you both. I do hope one day to learn how this surprising twist came about?"

Gibbs actually smiled.

"Of course, Duck. I'm sure no one here will be able to resist giving you all the details."

Daniel grinned at the room at large.

"Not that we know the details, so that would be a short story!"

"Exactly my point." Gibbs' smile turned into a devious smirk.

"I could tell you," a soft voice mixed into the conversation.

Cat, because of course it was she who'd spoken that last bit, unfolded herself from the blankets covering her and carefully stretched. Everyone watched her, trying to assess how she was doing. Much better, it seemed. There was color on her cheeks again, a sparkle in her eyes, and though she moved gently and cradled her left arm, she didn't seem to be in too much pain. When she started to get up, they all wanted to stop her, but she waved them off.

"I'm fine," she said. "Now that the bullet has been removed, healing is proceeding rapidly. Thank you, Dr. Mallard."

She nodded her head at him. He nodded back in acknowledgement, then asked the second question that was plaguing his mind.

"Why couldn't you go to the hospital, my dear?"

Cat slid off the couch to the floor, and crouched at Ducky's feet.

"I'll show you."

And between one blink and the next, the woman Ducky had been working on for over two hours turned into a white tiger, sitting quietly at his feet, its green eyes watching him carefully. Ducky swallowed, and then tilted his head slightly. Understanding what he was looking for, the white tiger turned a little to show him her left shoulder. In between the white fur, Ducky saw the exact same stitches he'd given the woman only an hour before, in the same spot, his own type of knots unmistakable. 

"Oh my," he whispered.

~~~~~

On PX7-235, Daniel stared at Jack, horrified.

Only seconds before, Jack had teased Daniel's hands with his almost-fork, trying to pinch the last of the almost-beef left on Daniel's plate.

"Come on, Danny, you don't want the rest of this, do you?" Jack had grinned, and stabbed his almost-fork at the remainder of the meat. 

"Jack," Daniel chided, "don't."

But then Jack had actually speared a piece of meat, and brought it to his lips with another grin. Daniel's tone had changed abruptly to a warning.

"Jack, don't!"

But it had been too late, and Colonel O'Neill had wrapped his lips around the morsel, savoring the spicy flavor of the meal they had all been enjoying. 

When he saw Daniel's expression, Jack swallowed his mouthful and queried.

"What?"

Daniel gulped.

"Jack…"

But before anything could be explained, the elder of the town led the villagers in a call of joy, pointing to Jack and Daniel, Jack's face stony and placid, Daniel's blushing with fire.

"Daniel?"

Oh, the many ways Jack could say his name. In query, in doubt, in reproof, in exasperation. Daniel shivered. If Jack could only once say it the way Daniel really wanted - in lust, in love. Daniel sighed.

"Remember the wedding cake, Jack?"

Slowly, Jack nodded, seeing Sam's eyes widen and Teal'c raise an eyebrow.

"Yeah… Sharing food is… here… kinda like… that."

Daniel looked down at his now empty plate, and didn't see the pleased grin O'Neill sported before he managed to school his features into a scowl.

"We just got married, Danny?"

Daniel blushed.

"Pretty much, yeah."

There was a silence all around.

"Okay, then," Jack said lightly. "Show us to the temple to make it official."

~~~~~

The white tiger stared at Ducky for a moment after showing its scars, then turned to John and Rodney, padding softly over to them, keeping its left front paw off the floor. Immediately, Rodney's free fingers, the ones not buried in John's hair, made their way into the white tiger's fur. She plaintively looked up at the two of them. John glanced up at Rodney from his place in his lover's lap, then put down his beer and rolled off the sofa, gently falling to the floor next to the tiger. A single blink, and there was a black panther next to the white tiger, softly biting its neck to get it to relax fully, black paws settling over white fur. They looked like yin and yang, black wrapped around white, and Rodney slid down the couch to the floor. Tiger and panther alike put their heads on Rodney's outstretched legs, and breathed huffy big feline sighs when Rodney's fingers again found the tufts of fur between their ears. Purring so loud it could rival a motorboat was heard from the two creatures simultaneously.

For just a moment, Jack, Daniel, Gibbs and Tony smiled at the sight and sound. Then Daniel turned to Ducky.

"Rodney likes cats," he said, and turned back with a soft grin on his face.

~~~~~

Tony and Gibbs hadn't gotten married. There were no alien rituals, no Ancient forces compelling them to do so. 

~~~~~

Jack frowned at the bleeping coming from his wrist. Even after all these years, he still had to get used to his watch being more than just a watch. He pressed a button and spoke.

"Yeah? O'Neill."

A strange, tinny voice replied.

"O'Neill. It is good to hear you."

Jack and Daniel shared a quick surprised glance, then Jack answered with a smile.

"Thor, old buddy! Good to hear you too! What's the occasion?"

"I have two humans here, O'Neill, who wish to see you. Or should I say, wish to see their friends."

"Okay…" Jack hedged, "where are you?"

"We are overhead of you, O'Neill. I would like to deliver your friends, and come myself as well. But my sensors tell me there are others with you."

Jack quickly glanced around, his gaze landing solidly on Ducky as he spoke again.

"All friends, Thor. You can come down."

"Fine, O'Neill. We will see you in a moment."

The beam of white light surprised none but Ducky. The people delivered by said beam garnered far greater response. Ronon and Teyla stood in the living room looking like they had always been there. Their first gaze was towards Rodney and the two creatures he was petting. They smiled. Teyla nodded to Jack and Daniel, then to Gibbs and Tony, raised her eyebrow at Ducky's presence but acknowledged him with a smile, then turned to Rodney and the two felines. Carefully reaching for them, she placed one hand on the black panther's head, the other on Rodney's knee. 

"Hello, John," she said. "Hello, Rodney," she smiled.

Rodney gasped, looking up at her sharply. 

"You know that's John?"

Teyla revisited her smile, Ronon just laughed out loud.

"With that hair? Of course it's Sheppard." Ronon snorted. "Hey, Sheppard, this mean you're finally gonna be able to keep up with me when we're running?"

Meanwhile, Gibbs, Tony and Ducky were awestruck by the little grey alien that had been revealed as soon as Teyla and Ronon had stepped aside. The size of maybe an eight-year-old, looking like one of the Roswell classics, Thor was anything but what the three of them had expected. Jack, however, stepped forward eagerly, and accepted the hug Thor threw around his legs gladly. In truth, he looked like a favorite uncle getting a hug from his eager nephew, only in this case (when considering age, wisdom and experience), Jack was the nephew, and Thor the favorite uncle. 

"Thor, buddy, it's so good to see you!" Jack exclaimed earnestly.

"It is good to see you too, O'Neill. It has been too long. But I must admit, I am not here solely for the purpose of seeing you."

"Of course not," Jack said, "I know that. Danny's here too."

Thor turned to Daniel, and hugged him much the same way, only Daniel managed to kneel down just before the tiny grey arms reached out for him, so it was more of a real hug than it had been with Jack. They greeted each other gladly.

"O'Neill. Daniel Jackson. I was in orbit when you reached StarGate Command with your message. I was conferring with Hermiod on board the Daedalus when I heard of the request to have Teyla Emmagan and Ronon Dex transported here. The Daedalus was already on its way out, but I gladly offered the transport facilities of the 'Daniel Jackson IV' once I heard of the circumstances."

Daniel leaned into Jack and whispered: "It never gets old to have a space ship named after you."

"I had one named after me too, remember?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, but that was one. I'm up to four now. The Daniel Jackson IV."

Jack huffed.

"That just means that three of them blew up. You really proud of that?"

Daniel didn't know whether to look proud or disappointed. Jack kissed him instead.

"It's a very good name, Danny," he whispered back. Then he returned to Thor.

"Well, thank you so much, Thor, buddy!" 

Jack spared a quick glance to Teyla and Ronon, who had shared a brief hello with Gibbs and Tony (though Ronon's hug of Tony might have left bruises in its fierceness) and then settled down on the floor next to Rodney and the two cats. 

Ducky just sat there, trying to take everything in stride.


	8. Chapter 8

As Teyla carefully held her hand in front of the white tiger's nose, she addressed it in a gentle voice.

"Are you well, friend?"

The big cat licked Teyla's hand in answer and put one paw softly onto her leg in reassurance. Rodney answered.

"She will be. Dr. Mallard removed the bullet, and Cat says now that it's gone, she'll be healing quickly." He squinted at Ronon and Teyla a bit. "You don't seem very surprised by the fact that she's a cat. Or Sheppard, for that matter."

Ronon shrugged. 

"Saw the cat the second night we were here for the party. When we met the woman that evening at dinner, I knew it was her. Felt the same."

Teyla nodded.

"I felt it as well. And of course, the eyes of the woman and the animal are strikingly similar. As for John, well," she gave the black panther a teasing smile, "I would guess that he was probably toying with some Ancient device while thinking it would be nice if he was able to turn into a cat as well."

John the panther closed his eyes and was glad that the black fur hid his blush. Sometimes it sucked having friends who knew you so well. Rodney and Ronon just grinned.

Meanwhile, Jack was introducing Thor to Tony, Gibbs and Ducky, if you could call it an introduction.

"Guys, this is Thor. He's an Asgard."

Tony huffed. Well, that explained everything, didn't it? Sometimes Jack could be even more annoying than Gibbs, and that was saying something! Barely biting back a grin at Tony's expression, Daniel provided further information, while Thor himself simply stood there, his head slightly tilted, his huge eyes blinking. Over the past years since he had come into contact with O'Neill, and through him other Tau'ri, Thor had learned to be patient while the humans did their - in his opinion quite unnecessary - excessive talking. On the other hand, he had also begun to understand that for a race so young, it was good that the humans were so curious, always wanting to know things. How else were they supposed to learn and grow? Besides, Thor had come to like the sound of Daniel Jackson's voice as he explained things, and enjoyed hearing the way the young man's mind worked.

When Daniel's explanation seemed to be finished, Thor stepped forward and extended his hand in the way of greeting he had learned from O'Neill all those years ago.

"Hello. I am Thor."

The grey haired man called Gibbs shook his hand in a no nonsense manner, the older man called Ducky gave it a soft shake, but the young man called Tony was tentative, his eyes wide and brimming with questions. Eventually, Tony did shake Thor's hand, and Thor decided to hold onto it longer than was necessary. He held Tony's fingers as he spoke again.

"I see you have many questions, youngling. That is good, it is how you learn. Unfortunately I do not have much time on this occasion. I am certain Daniel Jackson and O'Neill will be able to answer at least some of your queries, and I will be pleased to return one day when there is more opportunity to converse."

Then he let go of Tony's hand and politely turned his back on them to move over to the cat who was his purpose for this visit.

Tony stared at the little grey being, slack jawed. Daniel, after sharing a surprised glance with Jack, bumped Tony's leg to get his attention, and grinned.

"He likes you!"

Tony swallowed.

"Is that… good?"

Jack sighed.

"Sure," he said. "As long as you don't mind being called young and stupid in every other sentence, Thor's a really fun guy to hang out with."

Daniel just laughed as they all turned their eyes back onto Thor. Ronon had moved his legs aside to make room for the small alien to kneel by the white tiger's side. They watched as he carefully slid his long fingers through the soft fur, obviously examining the animal. Finally, he moved his hand to the cat's head and brushed his fingers over her nose.

"You will heal well," he said to her. "Hello, old friend."

~~~~~

"Not that it isn't always lovely to get out from under the Mountain," Vala said as she folded her legs under herself in the big chair she'd claimed and stretched her arms above her luxuriously, "but why are we meeting here?"

'Here' was a small cabin on the outskirts of Colorado Springs that Jack had set up many years ago, a safe house of sorts, where he and his team would meet when there was something to discuss that couldn't be safely talked about inside the Mountain or any of their homes. When first Jack and then Daniel had left for Washington, Sam had taken over the care of the place, sometimes handing it over to Cam when she herself was away from Earth for longer periods. Sam gestured to Vala to be patient, as Cam handed drinks to both women and Teal'c. As soon as Sam had called him earlier that day, Cam had headed out to the cabin and performed his usual careful sweeps, both physical and electronic, so they could be certain they would not be overheard, whatever they were going to discuss. At the sound of an approaching car, they all tensed, but Sam looked out and relaxed when she saw Agent Barrett exiting the vehicle. She let him inside and gave him a drink.

"Okay," Sam said when they were all seated again. "Here's what's going on. Barrett, I know you already heard some of this from the General, but for the others this is new." She took a sip from her coffee. "The house where the General and Daniel live was attacked today."

Vala stiffened in her seat, Cam straightened his posture to attention and Teal'c raised an eyebrow.

"They're fine, but Cat, you know, the woman who takes care of the house? She was injured, shot. She's going to be fine, Daniel texted me. But… this was not the first time. Apparently, right after we were all there for the housewarming party? There was an attack then too. Only nobody got hurt that time, and the General didn't think it necessary to inform any of us." She snorted, making her opinion of that notion clear. "Now though, they're worried. Not just for them, but for us as well. They have no idea who is behind it, or what or who they're after. Probably at least one of them, considering that both attacks took place at the house, but since we had been there too…"

She let that sink in for a moment, then continued.

"Daniel wouldn't say why, but they have a strong feeling that it is SGC related, which means all of us could be a target. Nevertheless, Gibbs has his people at NCIS on alert as well, and the General asked Agent Barrett here to look after John and Rodney's families."

Barrett nodded, and took over for a moment.

"I already have agents discretely posted on David Sheppard and Jeannie Miller and their families. They'll be guarded round the clock until this is resolved."

"Does General Landry know?" Cam asked.

"No," Sam replied. "For now, we're keeping this in the family in the closest sense of the word." 

Teal'c nodded his approval of that. Vala squirmed in her seat, then burst out with anger.

"I will not sit idly by when someone puts my Daniel in danger!"

Sam grinned.

"You've put him in danger yourself plenty of times!"

Vala grinned back.

"I know, but that was me, and I knew I would always be able to get him out of it again too. That doesn't mean that anyone else gets to do it to him."

Cam laughed.

"Except General O'Neill, of course."

Vala scowled at him, but it was done with a twinkle in her eyes.

"Well, yes, I concede I have lost my Daniel to that man."

"Daniel Jackson belonged to O'Neill long before you arrived, Vala Mal Doran." Teal'c informed her, to which she eventually nodded her head in acknowledgement.

"I guess that's true, Muscles. The point still stands, though. We're not just going to sit here and do nothing, right?"

"We're not," Sam confirmed. "Sheppard is going to ask Teyla and Ronon to come to the house. If they got lucky with transportation, they're probably already there. I think we should head there ourselves too. If it is something to do with the SGC, it would be better to be together, not having to fight on separate fronts."

Cam frowned.

"Or maybe that's what they want. Get us all together, then once they've got one, they've got all."

Sam interjected.

"Normally I would say you have a point, but there's something else. Remember that night before the party, at dinner? Ronon and Teyla said the house felt like Atlantis."

Several nods in confirmation, except from Agent Barrett, who knew about Atlantis, but had not been at the house.

"Daniel mentioned that the house was protected. Rodney said something like that too, last time I talked to him. Cat got hurt outside of the grounds this afternoon, but Daniel said she managed to get inside so she was safe. There's something more going on with that place than we know about. Think about it… Feels like Atlantis, has protection…"

She trailed off, letting them mull it over.

"You think the house has shields?" Cam asked, eyes wide. Sam nodded.

"It's the only thing I can come up with that fits. The General would never keep Daniel or any of his people in a place he couldn't be certain was safe, not if he could help it. Sheppard's the same with McKay, and from what I saw when we were there, Gibbs has the same idea about Tony. Daniel was quite emphatic that they wouldn't be leaving the house, in fact, they're all taking time off until this is resolved."

"I suspect then that you are right, Samantha Carter. O'Neill would indeed not have Daniel Jackson somewhere unprotected." Teal'c nodded. Vala and Cam agreed as well.

"So," Sam continued, "if we're going there as well, like Cam said, that would be putting all our eggs in one basket. Which is where you come in, Barrett."

Agent Barrett nodded, having understood where this was headed.

"You need someone on the outside. Since I already know at least part of what's going on, I'm the logical choice."

Sam smiled at him. He sighed.

"Of course. I need to stay here to do what you can't from there if you need it. Maybe ask around a little?"

Sam squeezed his hand in thanks.

"Don't ask, just listen. If you hear anything, let us know, but don't go stirring the pot."

"You got it, Sam. Anything I can do to help."

"So," Vala said, "when are we leaving?"

"Right now," Sam replied, standing up. "We've all got our emergency supplies here, and I have a feeling that the sooner we get there, the better."

~~~~~

Thor hadn't stayed for more than fifteen minutes or so after that. The first few minutes, he and the white tiger had stared intently into each other's eyes, seeming to have a silent conversation, but then both Cat and John returned to their human forms so they could join in the talking. They told Thor what was going on and he promised that if he discovered something that might be of help, he would contact them. Then, after saying his goodbyes, he disappeared in a beam of white light.

For a while, they discussed the situation and informed each other of the phone calls they'd made, and then Tony retreated to the kitchen to cook them all a meal, adamantly refusing Cat access to the kitchen since she had to heal. He allowed Ronon to come with him though, not just for the pleasure of the other man's company, but also because he'd quickly discovered that Ronon's skills with knives included very fast chopping of vegetables and other things. Since the kitchen was open to the room the others were in, they could still join in on the conversation, while they threw together a hearty stew.

Despite Jack's prodding, he couldn't get Cat to reveal how she knew Thor. She only confirmed that they were indeed old friends, but would not divulge anything about how old, or how they had met in the first place. She just gave them all a mysterious little smile and shrugged her good shoulder dismissively.

When Ronon and Tony rejoined the others while the stew was bubbling away, Daniel turned to Tony.

"Tony? How did you and Gibbs get together?"

Tony blushed and spluttered, glanced at Gibbs, then emptied the remainder of his beer and got up to get a fresh one. Gibbs glared at Daniel.

"How did you and Jack?"

Daniel smirked.

"I asked first."

"I don't…"

"I'm telling you, Jethro," Jack interrupted, "give up now and just answer the question. Daniel will win. Never argue with a linguist." He gave a long suffering sigh.

Tony returned and sat down again, carefully not looking at Gibbs. Everyone watched them silently.

"He kissed me," Gibbs finally said, to everyone's surprise. Tony's blush deepened again, and Gibbs smiled softly when he saw it. "Only took me a couple of years before I kissed him back."

Tony closed his eyes and let his head fall back against the couch, beer cradled in his hands, and waited. And waited. And nothing else happened. He cleared his throat.

"That was after Mexico. When he kissed me back, I mean. When I kissed him, that was much earlier, when he let me stay with him after that crazy bomb lady tried to blow us all up?" In the course of their many evenings together over the years, full of stories, he knew that Jack and Daniel, Rodney and John had at least a passing knowledge of the things that had happened to Gibbs and himself, and would be able to place them in a timeline. It was mostly for Ducky, though.

"Anyway, he came back from Mexico, and things were bad, and I was deep into the whole mess with Jeanne, and whenever I had a moment to myself, it all started to overwhelm me. Even though things between Jethro and me weren't good then, the only place I found I could relax was still his basement. So one night I was there, and we were working on the boat, and he kissed me."

"You left. After I kissed you."

Tony nodded, not opening his eyes or lifting his head.

"Things were so messed up. You said you meant it, but I… I couldn't handle any more at that point. So we left it at that."

"Then we thought you were dead."

"Yeah, when my car blew up."

Finally, Tony opened his eyes and looked at Gibbs. Even though he was speaking mostly to the others, his gaze remained locked with Gibbs.

"That ended the Jeanne thing pretty quickly. I had told her I loved her, but even as I said it, I knew it wasn't true, not like that anyway, not like you. But I couldn't let myself get into something with you then, knowing that there were these lies between us. But when that was gone, I started to hope. That maybe… maybe there was a chance, still. That maybe we could get there. And even though things at work still weren't great, I kept coming back to your basement."

"You did," Gibbs smiled.

"And in private, away from the office, things were different. I mean, you were still bossing me around and everything, but sometimes… sometimes you'd talk to me."

"And sometimes you listened."

"I always listened! I just didn't always hear exactly what you were saying."

They grinned at each other.

"Anyway, I was just getting to the point where I thought I could risk it, you know, when Jenny… And then Vance sent me off to be an Agent Afloat."

"And when I finally got him back, I knew I couldn't let him go again. So I wined him and dined him - well, beer and pizza - and let him show me his favorite movies on his laptop, and then, when he was pliant and relaxed, I took complete advantage of him."

Gibbs smirked and Tony laughed.

"He's not wrong. I was half asleep, wondering how the hell I was going to get home after the movie ended, when suddenly I realized that I was lying on my back on the couch, with him leaning over me. The moment his lips met mine, all sleep evaporated, and I grabbed him in my arms and knew I'd never want to let him go."

"And I've made him suffer for that ever since."

Though to anyone else that might have sounded like a joke, the ones present knew that there had been plenty of trouble between the two, and could hear the regret in Gibbs' voice.

Tony leaned into his lover, and tucked his head in the crook of Gibbs' neck.

"But we're good now. Aren't we?" He grinned a little. "I mean, if things are too easy, they probably aren't worth it. And definitely not as much fun." 

Gibbs swallowed, and gently ran his fingers over Tony's cheek.

"I wish I could have made everything easy for you, Tony. But that's not me. And I won't deny that at least we are having fun. Most of the time."

Tony laughed and raised his head to give Gibbs a solid kiss on the mouth, then waggled his eyebrows at the man.

"Wanna have some more fun, Jethro?"

Gibbs groaned, then lightly slapped the back of Tony's head.

"Later, you deviant."

They were joined in their laughter by the others.

~~~~~

Abby tapped her foot against the floor a little louder, crossed her arms in front of her chest a little firmer, and increased her glare a little more. It was no use. She'd been doing it for close to five minutes now, but McGee wasn't budging. Ziva just looked amused.

"Give it up, Abbs!" McGee chided her. "We're waiting for Palmer. I don't want to have to go through this twice."

Luckily for all involved, just then, Jimmy Palmer slipped into Abby's lab and closed the door behind him.

"Sorry! Sorry! I had to…"

Abby waved him off.

"Whatever! What's up, McGee?"

McGee took a deep breath.

"Okay, so… Gibbs' and Tony's house was attacked today."

As he'd expected, Abby blanched and fell back into her chair, which was why he'd been standing close to her so he could keep it from rolling away. Ziva stiffened and Palmer froze.

"They're okay. Cat was hurt, though." He looked to Palmer, who nodded in understanding.

"The call Dr. Mallard got earlier," he said.

McGee nodded in acknowledgement.

"We have to get over there!" Abby panicked.

"Boss says no, Abbs. They're safe, and they need us here."

"What happened, McGee?" Ziva asked. And McGee relayed the information he'd received from Gibbs as fully as he could, before finishing with: "So, because of this earlier attack after the party, Boss wants us on high alert. He doesn't think it has anything to do with us, but nevertheless, the warning stands. We travel in pairs, check in. Gibbs and Tony are taking some time off, Gibbs is calling Vance."

"And Dr. Mallard?" Jimmy asked.

"Still at the house as far as I know. Gibbs or Tony will call if they need anything or if anything changes. For now, we're to continue as usual, just keep our eyes and ears open. And don't tell anyone."

They all let it sink in for a moment.

"Are you sure we can't go there?" Abby asked. "I don't want Tony to be alone when he's in danger! He needs his friends!"

McGee sighed.

"Tony can take care of himself, you know that, just like Gibbs. And Tony's not alone, Abby. Gibbs is there, and so are their friends. Tony wouldn't want you to get in danger just so you could be with him. Besides, I understand Sheppard is calling in his team, so Ronon will be there too."

That made Abby and Ziva both smile. Palmer caught their smiles and smirked to himself. Oh yeah, they had it so wrong. But Palmer could wait for the big reveal, and would quietly laugh to himself when it came. 

"So, everyone clear? Ziva and I will probably be on cold cases for now, so we'll be in the office." McGee turned to Abby and Palmer. "Either of you has to leave, call one of us, we'll come with you. No going out alone. Okay?"

Everyone nodded their understanding, and after another moment of contemplation, they broke up their meeting to return to their assigned tasks.

~~~~~

Gibbs turned to Daniel.

"Well?"

"Well, what, Jethro?" Daniel asked sweetly, knowing perfectly well what was being asked of him.

"You and Jack? How'd that happen?"

Jack groaned and buried his face in his hands, as Daniel blushed and laughed at the same time.

"Jack has a propensity to snuggle."

"Do not!" Jack swatted halfheartedly at Daniel's head, missing by quite a few inches, so it was clear he didn't mean it at all.

"Yes, you do. It's why Sam refused to share quarters with you after the first two times." Daniel laughed again, and Jack smiled, because a laughing Daniel was something he would never get tired of or take for granted.

"So on the next mission, Jack shared with Teal'c. After four nights, Teal'c came to me and explained it would be better for the team if he no longer had to share with Jack. And trust me, when a man like Teal'c comes to you and in his most deadpan voice says: "Daniel Jackson, O'Neill's sleeping habits are distracting me", that's just hilarious. So I said it wasn't a problem, that I'd share with Jack. The next overnight mission I found out what their problem was, since neither of them had been willing to share that little detail with me."

Jack rolled his eyes, but his hand strayed into Daniel's hair, carding through it gently.

Tony grinned. "You didn't mind?"

Daniel softly shook his head. 

"I didn't. I mostly grew up in the desert. I get cold at night. That first time, we shared a tent on a really cold planet and I was just grateful for the warmth. Besides," Daniel slitted his eyes and leaned back against Jack a little more, "it made me feel safe. Jack's always been very protective of me."

Jack cleared his throat in embarrassment, but Daniel just smiled again.

"Ever since that very first mission to Abydos." Daniel turned to Ducky to explain, knowing the others already knew of this. "That was the first planet we went to, just after we'd managed to open the Stargate. There was a threat to Earth there, and Jack, being in a pretty suicidal mood," - both their eyes darkened for a moment, remembering that time - "was the perfect guy to go there and blow everything and everyone up to stop the threat. But he didn't want to blow me up, not even back then."

Their expressions lightened again. Jack took up the story.

"So in the end, I decided to listen to the annoying geek, his plan saved Abydos and Earth, and instead of blowing up a planet, I ended up leaving him there with a wife and extended family. I went home and retired. Again. But even though he wasn't my responsibility, I couldn't help searching for him in the stars, worrying whether he was alright."

"And then a year later," Daniel continued, "he came back through the gate, because there was trouble brewing again. My wife and brother-in-law got taken, and in the end, I came home with Jack so we could search for them. But even then, he couldn't just let me be, he had to take me to his own house and have me stay there until I found a place of my own after a year away from Earth."

"Well," Jack huffed. "I couldn't leave you under the Mountain, could I? I knew you wouldn't get any sleep or even food if no one was looking out for you!"

Daniel grinned at the others. "See, protective…"

"Brat!" Jack chided.

"Mother hen!" Daniel returned cheerfully. "So when this whole sharing quarters on overnight missions thing came up and Jack tended to get close in his sleep, I didn't particularly mind, no. Of course, by the end of the first year of missions, it had gone from a casual arm thrown over my chest to Jack being full on wrapped around me."

"You died how many times that first year, Danny? Two? Three? See any correlation?"

"Throw in the harvest festivals, and then the ritual marriages that started during our second year, and you could make a good case for saying we'd been together for a long time."

"But we hadn't."

"No," Daniel sighed, "we hadn't. And then we found Sha're - my wife - and lost her forever, and there was all this tension and things started to deteriorate between us, but still, whenever we shared a tent, I would find solace in sleeping in your arms." Daniel nudged his head against Jack's hand to get him to continue stroking through his hair.

"Yeah," Jack sighed, "things got really bad. And then they got worse."

Ducky raised his eyebrows politely in question. Now it was Daniel's turn to sigh.

"I died."

"You asked me to let you go."

"I didn't have any reason at that point to think you'd want me to stay."

"A whole year, Danny, just like back then with Abydos. But this time it was much more confusing. And far more painful. I knew you were still out there, but..."

"I came back, though."

"And couldn't remember me."

"I could barely remember anything! And then, just when things were starting to come back to me, but before I could really make heads or tails of it, I had a dozen consciousnesses of other people shoved into my brain."

"I sat there the whole time, watching one after another possess your body, speak with your voice, and I knew then that I would give anything to have you back for good. It was different from when you were Ascended and doing glowy things… to have your body there, but you not in it, knowing they could be tearing your mind apart, that was true hell."

They took a moment of silence, and the others waited patiently.

"So when we got it all sorted out, and I was back to being just me, he took me home, to his house. We sat and talked for a while, and when I said I wanted to get some sleep, he said to go sleep in his bed since the guest room was unavailable. I was so tired, I just shrugged. It wasn't like we hadn't shared before."

"Which was exactly my plan."

"No surprise then that when I woke up in the morning, a certain Colonel was wrapped around me like an octopus. I stayed quiet for a long time, just letting myself feel how warm and safe I was, the first time I'd truly relaxed since I descended. And then I realized there was no way I had actually woken up before Jack. Sure enough, when I turned my head to look at him, his eyes were open and clearly wide awake, and I knew that he had been awake the whole time I had been lying there in his hold."

"He didn't even flinch when I smirked at him."

"No," Daniel smiled, "I just asked him if I could stay over at his place again that night. He didn't flinch either, by the way."

"I guess we both knew."

"Yeah. So that went on for a couple of weeks, and then there was the rock slide, and I was just so tired of hiding what all of it, what Jack, meant to me. So that night, I didn't wait until we were in bed, I just crawled against him on the couch, wanting to feel that safety again. And then I asked him to kiss me."

"Which of course I did."

"And the rest is history."

"And future," Jack whispered, just before he pressed his lips to Daniel's in the softest, most loving kiss imaginable.

~~~~~

"The fact that Dr. Mallard is at the house means that the woman is still alive," the director said. His statement was greeted by very unpleasant laughter.

"Not necessarily. He is a Medical Examiner, after all. He could just be performing an autopsy."

A loud click signaled the end of the conversation. The director sighed. 

~~~~~

The others threw pointed glances at John and Rodney. John smirked uncomfortably.

"I fell in love with Rodney the moment he let me push him off a balcony to test his personal shield."

"You… you did?" Rodney asked, staring at his lover with wide eyes. "You never told me that!" 

John shrugged.

"I didn't think it mattered. Just, you know, that I did. Love you, I mean."

Rodney glared at him. 

"But, John… that was, that was years ago! Years! You never thought to mention that?"

"What?" Sheppard answered gruffly. "Tell you that I was pathetic enough to trail after you like a love-sick puppy for five years before I finally got up the courage to kiss you? No, Rodney, it didn't occur to me to mention that, ever!"

In the ensuing silence, John realized what he'd said, and face palmed. "Until now, apparently."

Rodney's crooked lips formed into the gentlest smile any of them had ever seen on him. He pulled his mortified lover to him and held him tightly. Teyla and Ronon smiled.

"I knew the moment we met that there was something deeper than friendship between John and Rodney," Teyla said to the others.

"Obvious," Ronon smirked.

"Yes," Teyla chided him, "but that was a year later, when everyone on Atlantis already knew. Except for them, of course." Ronon shrugged agreement as Teyla continued. "John was very anxious for Rodney, refused to let him out of his sight, especially at first. I witnessed several incidents where John placed Rodney's interests above those of others, and especially above his own."

John, slightly recovered from his embarrassment and paying attention to what was being said now, interrupted. "Ehm, Teyla… maybe you shouldn't say stuff like that in front of…"

Jack waved a hand dismissively.

"Too late, General. I already know you're a sucker for the guy."

Wicked grins all around.

"I meant, of course, in making sure that Rodney ate regularly, and slept at least occasionally. Even to the detriment of your own rest, John." She smiled beatifically at him. "Dr. McKay soon proved his ability to take care of himself and others during missions in terms of defense, however, when at home, Rodney can get forgetful. And that is where John showed care for Rodney far beyond that of a commanding officer for his charge."

"First time I saw Sheppard anxiously watching McKay in my self defense class, I knew what was up." Ronon grinned.

"Yes, well, you're a scary man, Chewie!" Rodney huffed. "Anyone with half a brain would be concerned for my safety in your so-called class, which is just an excuse for beating the crap out of people! And let's not forget, that was barely days after you had taken Teyla and John hostage, caught me by my ankle in a bear trap, and nearly dropped me on my very valuable head when you cut me loose!"

"As I was saying," Teyla raised a delicate eyebrow at Rodney, "it was clear that there was more than concern for a teammate there. I could not understand at first why they were hiding their attraction, until one day I spoke with Elizabeth about the nature of relationships between those from the Milky Way."

"Elizabeth knew?" John squeaked.

"I did not tell her anything, John. But yes, she knew."

The four of them, and Jack and Daniel, bowed their head for a moment in a nod to a woman they had all admired in their own way.

"Teyla explained it to me when I joined the team and asked her about it," Ronon said after the silence. "Elizabeth too. And then Lorne, and Zelenka. Even Chuck." Ronon looked to Tony. "That's why I didn't like it when you said you wanted to keep it secret, you and Gibbs. On Sateda, my home, love of any kind was celebrated as long as it didn't endanger anyone. It's still hard for me to accept that here there are stupid rules keeping people apart."

"Ronon and I were hopeful that John and Rodney would find their way towards each other, but then…"

"Arcturus," Rodney said. Even though his guilt at that would never leave him, he'd managed to put it behind him, and so had the others. He glanced at Ducky, a faint blush on his cheeks. "I accidentally blew up five-sixth of a solar system. It was uninhabited, but still… I lost the lives of some good scientists, and put John in danger."

"And yourself, let's not forget that," John added with a growl.

"It took a while for John and Rodney to forgive each other," Teyla continued. "Every time things seemed to be going well, something happened to halt the progress."

"Thought of just knocking them out and stranding them on a deserted planet until they figured things out. Lorne would've gladly helped me, offered to pilot the jumper and all." Ronon smirked.

John glared at that. "I'm going to have a word with Lorne the next time I see him."

Ronon just grinned and waved the complaint away.

"Then a most trying time came when Rodney was afflicted with Second Childhood." In deference to Ducky, Teyla explained. "It is a disease native to the Pegasus galaxy, harmless when contracted in infancy, but deadly in adulthood. It afflicts the brain, makes you… forget. Slowly, Rodney was forgetting everything, his knowledge, his friends, even his core self."

"But he remembered Sheppard, always," Ronon added. As John and Rodney remained quiet, the others looked to them. They were sitting close together, clearly trying to dispel the memories of that time.

"Rodney told Dr. Keller - Jennifer - that he loved her," Teyla said softly, "but just a short while later, he did not even remember her. Instead, he ran to John."

"Pretty obvious," Ronon critiqued.

"Ronon knew of a shrine, where victims of Second Childhood could be restored to themselves for a short time to say goodbye to their loved ones. We undertook the perilous journey, and there discovered that it was in fact a parasite causing the devastation to Rodney's brain. In a daring operation, Dr. Keller and John managed to save Rodney and restore him to health. We had all hoped that this would bring forth the true feelings they had for each other, but…"

"McKay thought it was Keller."

"Hey!" Rodney swatted at Ronon, but John shushed him. 

"It was a while after that when you first kissed me. You still had nightmares about the whole thing, and I woke up one night in the hut we shared, and you were thrashing in your sleep. I calmed you down, and then you kissed me."

Rodney put his hand against John's cheek.

"Yes, I do remember that. But when I thought about it in the morning, I knew I should just be glad you hadn't given me a black eye for it, that you let me get away with it thinking it was because I was still half asleep. I figured, if you wanted to do something about it…"

"You were already with Keller."

"Yes," Rodney sounded a little sad, "I should have known that would stop you. Always so damn honorable."

"But when we returned the city to Earth, it quite quickly became clear that when we were to return to Pegasus, Jennifer would not be wanting to join us," Teyla reprised. Rodney huffed.

"Yes, yes! I'm quite capable of telling this myself, you know! She didn't want to go back. She'd had her adventure, and she wanted me to stay here as well. But I wanted to go home, and no matter how nice it looked from the outside to have an intelligent, beautiful woman wanting you to stay with her, I knew the instant she said it, that I never would. I wouldn't give up Atlantis for her, and I told her so. And then she asked me if I would give Atlantis up for John if he asked me to."

Rodney swallowed for a moment, and they all saw John tighten his grasp on Rodney's fingers.

"And then I knew. Yes, I would. And she had known it all along."

"Took you four days to come to me," John whispered.

"Well, I had a lot to think about. Even with my brain capacity, some things take a little time to process. Especially things like that. And especially when I still had no idea how you felt about it."

"Then I kissed you."

Rodney smiled.

"Yes. You fed me beer and then you kissed me. Were you hoping I'd forget it?"

"I was hoping you'd forgive me for it if I got it wrong."

"You've been wrong many times, John, - which is inevitable, I suppose, for someone of your intelligence - but never when you kissed me."

John laughed, not insulted in the least, and kissed Rodney again for good measure.

~~~~~

Cat smiled as she reclined on her bed. Her shoulder was healing well, in a day or two barely a scratch would be left of the wound. Her charges were safe in their beds, huddled up together, happy despite the threat, and closer to each other than before after the personal tales they'd shared. The good doctor who had treated her was safely tucked into Gibbs' bed, since Gibbs was always sharing Tony's bedroom now, and Teyla and Ronon slept soundly in the guest room in Rodney and John's apartment. All in all, a satisfying day. And she smiled again in the knowledge that more friends were on their way to protect those she loved.


End file.
